In My Veins
by brucaschopia4evr
Summary: "Do you ever miss me?" It was the only question he could think to ask as Lindsay turned to leave. And after all these years, he realized the question wasn't even about Lindsay. It wasn't about her at all. AU following Lucas' meeting with Peyton in 5x18
1. Chapter 1

Hope this isn't too confusing. The italics are flashbacks, and the bolded italics is a flashback within the flashback haha. If anyone has questions feel free to pm me.

XXXX

His hand floated through the powerful drafts of the air as his other hand lazily gripped the top of the steering wheel. His Ray Ban Wayfarer's adorned his face and the sun from the overhead sun roof shone warmly on his face. He felt that same feeling he had been feeling bubble over in his stomach for the past few weeks now. As he turned to the passenger seat, he was once again reminded of why.

He wasn't quite sure if that was allowed, though.

They were going on their thirteenth week of doing… well, whatever this was. The thirteenth week or the 94 days and 13 hours that they had engaged in this masquerade of what he was sure wasn't a masquerade at all. The first night they slept together he chalked it up to a lot of things; none of which he actually believed, but he sure did try his damnedest to. He had told himself it was because he was confused and she was lonely. Or was it because she was confused and he was lonely? Or because they had become each other's closest confidants in some of the most troubling times of their lives

 _The light of the TV illuminated his bedroom. The soft laughter of the audience of the Jimmy Fallon Show was the only noise in the room, but his mind was too clouded with thoughts to hear most of it anyway._

 _Just a few feet from him was Brooke lying next to him occasionally contributing in laughter to the late night program. He would catch himself glancing over at her before quickly diverting his gaze in fear that she would catch him staring. And then he would stare blankly at the television combating the rapid fire of thoughts coursing through his mind. He would try to ignore the sensation of butterflies he would get each time her hand or leg inadvertently and quickly grazed his own leg._

 _This was the third time in the last week he found himself in this position. Over the past two months, they had spent nearly every day together. It had all stemmed from her saving him, yet again, from running away from everything he needed to face._

 ** _He looked at his cell phone for maybe the hundredth time in the past hour. The time seemed to be moving at an accelerated speed as he began to come to the realization that maybe she wasn't coming. Exhaling, he ran his hands harshly across his forehead before resting them atop his head. The last twenty four hours had stirred all kinds of thoughts to the forefront of his mind._**

 ** _He couldn't go to the river court. Not now. Not that every inch of his sanctuary was branded by the mark of Peyton. The one place he could go to clear his mind was now a graffiti declaration of love._**

 ** _He couldn't go home because God knows every square inch of his bedroom reminded him of the feeble question he choked out at Lindsay's departure. 'Do you ever miss me?'_**

 ** _His thoughts were interrupted as he saw her walking through the terminal with a distraught look across her features. She walked quickly weaving in between the throngs of people walking every which way. Digging deeply into her blue and white checkered Louis Vuitton bag, he watched as she dug for her phone. He immediately stood up feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. There was no use answering it as they locked eyes._**

 ** _Dropping the phone to her waist, she stood there momentarily before making her way over to him._**

 ** _"_** ** _You got my message."_**

 ** _"_** ** _What do you think you're doing, Luke?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _I need to get away. Being here is just a reminder of how screwed up everything really is."_**

 ** _"_** ** _So, what? You're going to run off to Vegas for the weekend. Then what?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _I don't know. I don't know, okay? I just know that I'm going through some stuff. And so are you with Angie leaving. I just wanted a weekend where we could forget all of that. Aren't you tired. Brooke? I'm tired of all of this."_**

 ** _"_** ** _Luke…" He watches with bated breath as she exhales and her shoulders slump. He can see her demeanor change towards him to one of understanding. "You could go to Vegas. And I could go with you. We could get away from all this shit and even have fun while doing it, but … we're going to come back and everything we're running from is going to right back here where we left it. Running won't help. Believe me, I know."_**

 ** _He stares down at the two tickets in his hands and he knows that she's right. He can't go. He's spent too long running circles around everything that he needed to face._**

 ** _"_** ** _I went to see Peyton tonight."_**

 ** _He swears that for one second he sees a flash of darkness across her eyes, and just as quickly as it appears it is gone. He's left to wonder if he even saw it at all._**

 ** _"_** ** _How did that go?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _She told me that dreams of going to the night I proposed to her. She said in those dreams she says yes every time."_**

 ** _She looks down at the ground before looking back into his eyes._**

 ** _"_** ** _That doesn't sound so bad to me, Luke." A soft smile spreads across her lips._**

 ** _"_** ** _I waited two years to hear her say something like that. And then she finally did. And I felt nothing." He shrugged still unsure of how that can even be himself. "She's right, though. It's her dream. I'm just not sure it's mine."_**

 ** _"_** ** _Well, then you'll find out. But, I can tell you you won't find the answer to that question in Vegas."_**

 ** _He clenched his jaw tightly feeling defeated._**

 ** _"_** ** _If you stay, I promise you I will be right there to next to you to face whatever it is that scares you. You'll find your answers, Luke. We all need a little help sometimes."_**

 ** _He finds himself mulling over what she's said. Leaning down, he picks up his duffle bag and slings it over his shoulder._**

 ** _"_** ** _Let's get out of here." He extends his hand waiting for her to take the bait, and when she does he squeezes her hand gingerly before pulling her into a hug._**

 ** _"_** ** _Thank you." He whispers into her hair before releasing her._**

 ** _"_** ** _No, thank you. Now we can make it home in time for Real Housewives of Orange County." She skips ahead still pulling his hand as she turns around sticking her tongue out at him. And for the first time all time, he genuinely laughs._**

 _And the everyday they had spent together had turned into every night. In all the confusion clouding their lives, they were each other's constants. And lately, she would even spend the night simply enjoying each other's company with a bottle (or two) of wine or simply watching movies together. Tonight was no different, but somehow it felt very, very different._

 _"_ _You're pretty quiet over there."_

 _"_ _Some would have called that broodiness once upon a time."_

 _He could see through the darkness as she feigned and "ah" at his response._

 _"_ _So you admit it? You think you're broody? That's a milestone, Luke. I've been trying to nail that in your head for the last six years."_

 _Brooke Davis had this way about her. It was this light, ability to make him laugh even when his mind was strangled by his so called 'broodiness." She made it seem so easy._

 _"_ _Well… fine. I may potentially… somewhat be broody."_

 _"_ _Ha!" She mocks a laugh. "And I may potentially be the prettiest girl in the room right now."_

 _"_ _You are the prettiest girl in the room."_

 _He catches himself saying it all too quickly and far too seriously at a simple quip made by Brooke._

 _"_ _I'm the only girl in the room you goof."_

 _"_ _Well, you're the prettiest girl in any room."_

 _He knows that he shifted the otherwise very casual conversation of a few moments ago, but he just can't seem to help it anymore. If the last couple of months have been any indication he remembers exactly why he could never stand to just be friends with Brooke Davis._

 _And it was all coming to fruition in this moment._

 _And he wasn't sure if that was okay._

 _"_ _Thanks, Luke. That was really…" She paused inhaling clearly affected by his words through the element of surprise. "…sweet."_

 _"_ _You are."_

 _He found his left hand creeping forward as he laid on his side looking at her through the darkness his forehead resting on her own. And then before his head caught up with his actions his fingers are grazing the draw string of her Victoria Secret sweat pants and his thumb is tracing circles over her pants._

 _And the realization dawned on him of exactly what he was doing and he almost braced himself for her to hit him or scream at him or tell him that they were doing so great as friends and why did he need to go and ruin it. He waited for it and he almost shielded himself from her swing. Instead, he felt her scoot closer to him._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Brooke. I don't know why I did that. I…"_

 _"_ _Luke, shut up."_

 _He's startled by her response at first, and her mouth is open in a perfect 'o' before she bites down on her bottom lip gingerly. He can feel himself grow slightly hard and he prays that she is unaware of this._

 _"_ _I know. I mean it I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"_

 _And she leans forward and kisses him in a wonderful, electric, reminiscent way. She pulls away for just a moment and he's scared that she's changed her mind._

 _"_ _It doesn't change us being friends. It doesn't change anything. No one knows."_

 _And before he can agree, disagree, or anything in between, she continues kissing him and so he continues as well. And as he slips his hand down her pants, all of his thoughts disintegrate into a moment of complete serendipitous ecstasy._

And here he sat driving her home and he was reeling through the last 94 days and 13 hours since they had first slept together since their high school days. In that time, he found himself doing the thing that they promised each other they wouldn't: he was falling in love with Brooke Davis all over again and he didn't have the slightest inkling of where she stood in all of this. The only slight indicator he may have had if it all was from last week.

 _He stood over the griddle of Brooke's Viking oven as he cooked over easy eggs and heard the sizzle of bacon. He began to place the eggs and bacon one by one onto a plate as he smiled crookedly while doing so. He immediately knew that Brooke was standing in the doorway. He could almost feel her back there, but he decided to give her the satisfaction of playing dumb. So as he stood there in only his pair of pajama pants, he waited for her to speak._

 _"_ _I thought you left."_

 _Her voice sounded almost breathless like the thought of this had left her upset mere moments ago. His heart almost skipped a beat. It wasn't as if their time spent together had been non-emotional. It actually had been quite the opposite. However, there had never been a verbal declaration of anything resembling that indicating that she might think such._

 _These four words with the tinge of almost worry behind them were the first words that may have led him to believe that maybe she was feeling the same thing he was._

 _He turned around with the spatula extended and saw her leaning against the wall looking into the kitchen. She was standing there in only a sweatshirt, a very familiar sweatshirt. She had always taken a liking to the worn grey hoodie. It made him want to beam in pride that she was wearing his Keith Scott Motors sweat shirt. Instead, he just walked forward and wrapped his arm around her waist._

 _"_ _And miss you prancing around in only my sweatshirt." He raised a lone eyebrow humorously to which she smiled. "Not a chance."_

 _Leaning up, she kissed him softly on the lips wrapping her arms around his neck. He let his forehead lean atop her own as he smiled against her lips._

 _"_ _Good." She snuck out of his grasp slapping his butt as she sauntered toward the food. "Because I need a personal chef in my life." Chewing on a piece of bacon, she shrugged her shoulders innocently._

 _"_ _Personal chef, huh?" He crossed his arms tapping his fingers against his chin. "Does that get me special… compensation?"_

 _"_ _It sure as hell does."_

 _"_ _Sign me up."_

 _"_ _You have yourself a deal, broody boy. Now, eat some breakfast with me."_

 _Wiggling his eyebrows, he made his way over to her as they both began their morning the right way: together._

"That place was pretty cool, right?" She mused aloud setting her phone down in the cupholder.

"Yeah. I liked it a lot."

They had gone to a food festival located on Wrightsville Beach. Under any other circumstances, he would have loved the event. It was gorgeous day with great food and an even better location. And on top of all of that, it had been in the company of Brooke. He's not sure that he could have dreamt up a better scenario. But, instead of holding onto that sentiment, he was drawn to his theory that most of the things they did were amongst themselves in the seclusion of their homes or events that were outside of Tree Hill. He knew her intention. She didn't want to be seen by any of their friends. She was not willing to explain what they were… if they were anything. And the frustration of that was starting to bubble up inside of him. Truth be told, it was not even so much frustration as it was disappointment.

He turned onto the street of her home, and he could sense that she recognized his short answer.

"What's the matter, Luke?"

He wanted to say something, but didn't know if the timing was right. He had been going back and forth with this in his mind. She was leaving for New York tomorrow for two weeks for fashion week. He thought maybe that in those two weeks he would be able to come up with exactly what to say. Who knows maybe the distance would help her see that they were no good apart. But, as he stared forward gripping the steering wheel coming to a park in front of her home, he wasn't quite sure.

"Why did we really go there today? Why do we always choose restaurants outside of town and only see movies at the theater a half hour away? Are you scared someone will see us?"

She looks at him incredulously clearing not expecting his retort.

"What are you even talking about?"

"I'm not an idiot, Brooke. I know that we hang out at home and go to these places because you don't want to be seen. I get that you don't want to answer the questions. And I understand what this is."

His hands fall from the steering wheel into his lap as he prays that his words don't sound ludicrous.

"Or what it's supposed to be anyway."

She stares out the windshield as if she is looking for an out completely from this conversation.

"That wasn't exactly my intention, but I mean what exactly would you say if someone saw us? It's not such an easy conversation piece when Peyton lives a hop, skip, and jump away."

She laughs trying to lighten the mood, but he can see in her eyes that she didn't find it so funny. He knows that the position they've put themselves in weighs heavily on her. Ever since he met her, Brooke Davis has gone above and beyond for her best friend, even when she didn't deserve it. And even though technically they weren't doing anything wrong, he knows that she interpreted it as such.

"I don't know, Brooke. But, Christ, I mean… If anyone said anything, I would answer them honestly."

"And what's the honest answer? You know what this is, Lucas. We're friends, and right now we're having a lot of fun together but it's not any more than that. You know just as well as I do that what we're doing isn't worth the repercussion or… judgment of our friends."

"Is that _really_ all this is to you?" He responds despondently removing his sun glasses and placing them in the cup holder.

"You're timing's impeccable, you know that? Let's start a fight the day before I leave."

"Yeah, I'm doing this because I want to. You're right."

"God! Why do you need to make this more complicated than it is? _This_ is good! It works! Why do you need to do this now?"

He reaches over taking her hand in his own.

"I'll give you that one. It _is_ good. And it could be a hell of a lot better if maybe we just acknowledged it and didn't hide behind it all. If we're being honest here… I love…"

"Stop!" She throws her hands up suddenly removing it from his grasp and her eyes widen in horror.

"Brooke…"

"Stop, Lucas!"

She stands up ripping off her seatbelt and grabbing her purse all in one motion before opening the car door. She stands there with the door open, and stares back at him with red rimmed eyes.

"This isn't what this was. And it's _really_ not fair for you to say that." She stares down trying to regain her composure. "Do not follow me. I'll see you when I get home."'

"Fuck." He mutters and he quickly removes his keys from the ignition as he jumps out of the car. Lightly jogging he looks up to her as she opens her door.

"I mean it, Luke! We need some space. I'll see you when I get home, okay? I promise. Please. Not now… please."

He lunges up the first two steps before hearing the thunderous slam of her door and he pivots in the opposite direction kicking the ground. Placing his hands on his hips, he stares down in defeat and frustration.

XXXX

It had been eight days since she had left; eight days of excruciating waiting. He was trying to give her as much space as he possibly could, but that was proving to be futile to his sanity. So, as he scrolled through the lone pool of blue texts on their iMessages indicating that only he had been texting her, he began to feel restless.

He closed his phone only to see another iMessage appear from Peyton. Tossing his phone, he laid back against his bed. When he returned from his near departure to Vegas, he had answered Peyton's river court plea with one of his own. He had told her that in all the craziness of the past year he needed to take things slowly. And that started with friendship.

They had done their best to make things as normal as possible. It wasn't as if he was ignoring her. He certainly wasn't. They talked often; very often. He felt as close with her as ever. In the beginning, his whole situation with Brooke had left him more confused than ever. Slowly but surely, though, his confusion was making way to confidence. The answers he had been looking for were becoming much apparent. He wasn't quite sure how to tell that to Peyton though.

"Brooke, come on. Answer me." He was talking to himself as he held his phone to his head.

The sound of his ring tone filled his room and he nearly launched into a seated position to read the call information.

Nathan.

He debate whether or not to answer, but figured he could use the much needed distraction.

"Hey Nate. What's up, man?"

"Hey, I just got a call from the hospital. It's uhm…"

His heart sunk at this.

"Are you okay? Are Jamie and Haley okay?"

"They're fine. They're fine. It's … Dan."

XXXX

He followed Nathan with tentative steps as they made their way through the halls of intensive care unit. With each step, he felt his feet grow heavier and heavier. He can hear Nathan mutter something about finally reaching the room. As his brother continues to move forward, he freezes in place.

With everything already weighing on his mind, this was the last thing he needed. He looks up to see Nathan's previous robotic expression turn to one of empathy.

"I'm not uh… I'm not sure I can do this."

He watches as Nathan nods slowly digging his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Look, if you don't want to, then there's not a single person that will blame you for it. I sure as hell wouldn't. But, I know you, Luke. I know the man you are, and something tells me that if you don't go in there then you'll look back and feel differently than you do right now."

His eyes wander through the glass dividing door separating them from their father. His father, the larger than life Dan Scott, was lying in a hospital bed draped with wires and IV lines. His strong father looked weak. Even in his hate toward Dan, he couldn't ignore the apparent decline of his father.

A nurse came toward them exiting the room and drawing the curtain before stopping before them.

"Are you boys here for Mr. Scott?"

"Yeah." He's thankful Nathan jumped in to answer the question because he found himself unable. "We're his sons. I'm sorry I didn't get much information over the phone."

"He asked us to call you earlier. Your father was admitted with what we evaluated to be end stage heart failure. Through an admission assessment, we determined he hadn't been compliant with his medication and had decided to forgo corrective surgery about four months back. His heart just isn't strong enough to pump the adequate amount of blood flow and it has essentially led to a domino effect among his kidneys and liver. We're doing everything we can do to keep him comfortable, but at this present time you're father has a progressively declining prognosis." He can see the nurse is tip toeing around relaying them this information, and is doing her best to be ginger in revealing this information. "I know this is a very difficult thing to hear and our staff is here should you have any questions or needs at all."

"Thank you very much. Is it okay if we go in?"

"Yes. Absolutely. He has a bed alarm at his bedside if you need anything at all and our nurses' station is just directly down this hall."

The nurse beings to walk past them, and he finally finds his voice.

"How long?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Scott?"

"How long does he have?"

"It could happen at any time. He simply didn't get the treatment he needed when he needed it. I'm very sorry."

Dan was dying.

He watched as Nathan ran his hand over his jawline clearly affected by the information they had just received. His eyes begin to sting as he feels tears rise to the surface. He never thought he would see the day when Dan would succumb to anything. Even to his own dismay at times, he just didn't think he would ever see the day his father would die.

That's when his heart ached to have Brooke by his side in this.

"Nate, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I uhm…" Nathan shakes his head, and he can relate to his loss of words. "I'm just glad we're in this together man."

Extending his hand, his brother pounded his knuckles into his own softly.

"We're in this together, little brother."

They both stand idly hesitant to be the first to see their father.

"Nate, I'm going to head in."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Not yet. I have some things I want to say first."

"I'll be right here if you need anything, Luke."

He entered the room to see his father as a shell of the man he knew. He was lying in bed clearly fatigued as his face was shrouded underneath an oxygen mask.

"Lucas." His father's apparent shock does not garner sympathy. For a moment, he wonders why he is even here. Then, he is reminded of exactly why.

Keith.

Keith was the best man he ever knew. He was the man that he aspired to be each and every day. Whatever act of evil Dan may have committed, he knows in his heart that Keith would have wanted him to be here.

"Lucas, please sit." He maneuvers himself in bed eliciting the beeping of the monitor. Taking off his oxygen mask, he grimaces.

"Dan, you shouldn't take that off."

"It's fine. It's fine."

Silence looms between the two of them, and he feels lost. He was saddened by the complete disintegrated relationship he shared with his father.

"Lucas, I'm so happy that …"

"Why didn't you take your medication? Why say no to surgery?" He keeps his distance at the foot of the bed.

"Do you know how many people are waiting on the transplant list? Good people. People with families; families who they haven't pushed away. People who deserve them… not monsters like me."

"What's your angle, Dan? Do you want me to feel sorry for you? What is it that you want?"

He watches his father's bottom lip tremble momentarily, and he nods once staring back at him. He never fell for his father's sentimental acting. In the time that he knew his father, he knew that most things he did were very calculated. But, there was something different in his eyes. His eyes showed sincerity, and it made him uneasy.

"I didn't call you here for you feel sorry for me. I didn't even call you to ask for your forgiveness. I know that I made my bed and I deserve to lay in it. I just can't leave this world knowing that you didn't know how truly sorry I am."

"I've never understood how. How could you do that to him?" He realizes that his eyes are rimmed with tears and he refuses to cry in front of him.

"I spent so much of my life a bitter man. I had it all, and yet I had nothing at all. The day I shot Keith I was in a dark place. I was convinced that he had tried to kill me. I lost your brother, divorced Deb. My life was spiraling downwards. And meanwhile, Keith was building a new life with my high school sweet heart and the son that I abandoned. Every time I looked at him I felt like I was punched in the gut." His father began crying and he watched as he became short of breath gasping for air firmly pressing the oxygen mask to his face.

"What happened in that hallway?" He narrows his eyes at him.

"Keith wanted to go into the school to save that kid, so I let him go hoping that he'd get shot. Let him be the hero as long as he was the dead hero. And then I thought why should he be the hero. It can be me, so I followed him in. Jimmy was crying and Keith was telling him it gets better; that pain in your heart, the voice in your head that tells you there's no way out, it's over. It gets better. And I felt like he was talking to me. In that moment, maybe the most heroic, kindest moment of my big brother's life, I hated him. I hated him more than anyone or anything because nothing had gotten better. That pain was still in my heart. That voice in my head that said there was no way out was right. And he was standing there lying to me. After Jimmy died, I picked up the gun and I aimed it at Keith. And all I could think of was that everything that had gone wrong in my life was his fault. And it wasn't going to get better until he was gone. Just pull the trigger. So, I pulled that trigger, and it didn't end. It got worse."

Listening to Dan chronicle the events of his uncle's untimely death was enough to cut his heart right in two.

"I wish every single day I could take it back. I can still see it. I can't sleep at night. I just see it. I'm sorry for that day and every day before it. I didn't elect to have surgery or anything like that because I deserve this. I deserve whatever happens to me when I die. I just want you to know that I wish I could do things differently. I wish I was the father to you that you always deserved. And I wish I didn't take away the one man who ever truly was one to you. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

His father tries to catch his breath as the conversation has clearly caught up to his respiratory efforts. Dan is sobbing and he is as well. After a moment of bartering with whether or not to help him, he finally walks forward propping up two pillows behind him and sitting him up. Dan merely stares back at him in wide eyed shock as the two men simply linger in the silence between one another.

"I wish he was still here with you with you and Lily and your mom. He raised you to be a hell of a man, Lucas. I may have been a terrible father, but you have grown into being the man that I never was. I'm so proud that you are everything that I am not."

He places his hand over Lucas' forearm, and he stares down with trepidation at this.

"You're a _good_ man. I don't deserve to ask for anything from you. I just ask that you don't make the same mistakes that I did. I loved your mother so much. I got stuck. Instead of just admitting how wrong I was and that I never should have left, I kept running. If you love someone Lucas, then please don't make the same mistakes that I did. Don't be scared. Being afraid isn't a weakness. It just means you were man enough to admit to your mistakes. Don't end up a bitter man. Don't give yourself a reason to be bitter. Find the woman that makes you happy, and build a family with her. You deserve every happiness in this world, son."

He felt one single tear run down his cheek as he sat down in the bedside chair next to the bed. For the first time in his entire life, he can almost relate to his father.

He can't really attribute any reason as to what happens next. A rush of warmth washes through him; a tangible, physical warmth. In that moment, the anger that had weighed so heavily on his shoulders for so many years lessens. And he swears that he can feel his uncle. That very apparition was urging him to do the one thing that had haunted him for all too long: forgive.

His index and middle finger crawl forward as he places his hand atop Dan's.

"I forgive you." It took nearly all of his strength to utter the words.

Dan begins to cry once again and he hears an accelerated beeping on the machine indicating that his oxygen levels had fallen. As the nurse rushes in to reapply his oxygen mask and reassess him, he continues to hold his father's hand soothing him and telling him that it will be okay.

The screen monitoring his heart rate zig zags in crazed rhythms and the nurse is working diligently to stabilize him. He watches as Dan stares back at him with fearful eyes, and he says the only thing that feels right.

"It's going to get better, Dan. The voice in your head is wrong. You're going to be fine. I'm right here. It's going to get better."

And all the beeping begins to stabilize as Dan closes his eye drifting off to sleep. He remained there until Nathan came into the room simply holding his hand and crying.

Exiting the room, he collapsed against the hospital wall burying his face in his hands. Pulling out his phone, he open his text messages and began typing.

 _Dan's dying I need you Brooke I need you so much_


	2. Chapter 2

Leaning against the grandiose marble staircase of the exclusive after party, she found herself twirling her champagne flute jadedly. The glitz and glamour of events like this had lost their sparkle to her over the years. When she had first arrived in New York City, it had very much been a distraction; a welcome distraction at that. But, now, everything that she once saw glimmer was fading.

She saw her mother off in the distance chatting it up with a reporter sending her subtle death glares, and she turns around overlooking all the people mingling at the party below. Taking a sip of her champagne, she can't help but to yearn for all that is in Tree Hill. She removes her cell phone from her Tory Burch clutch, and opens up her pictures.

She never in a million years thought that she would be standing at one of the premier fashion week after parties isolating herself to look at pictures of her god son instead of talk to the elite of the fashion world. Yet, here she was. And she counts her blessings that she wasn't sucked into the world of all those who lost sight of what was really important.

Scrolling though the pictures, she comes across the photo shoot of funny faces she and Jamie had taken when she had taken him to the zoo before she left. She feels a smile involuntarily grow on her face. She then came across a picture of her and Haley clanking wine glasses together and their smiling faces at the camera were enough to make her ache for her friend. Her finger swiped through a few more photos before she froze on one.

She had forgotten that this photo was even taken. And for the millionth time in the eight days that she's been here, her thoughts are consumed by him.

 _"_ _Luke! Give me my phone back!" She's laughing hysterically now as he is holding the phone above his head and despite her very best efforts his tickling is inhibiting any chance she has at getting it back._

 _"_ _Oh this old thing?" He waves the phone in front of her. "You have the best entertainment in the world right in front of you. Whatever could you need this for?"_

 _They're lying in her bed after another night of … indiscretion. At least, that's what she's choosing to call it. It was a lot easier than having to try to sort out what all of this really was or wasn't. But, truth be told, all of this was starting to scare her. Because when he looked at her with that smile and did things like this, she was tempted to say it wasn't an indiscretion at all. She was all too tempted to say that this felt… right._

 _"_ _My mom will fly down here in about forty five seconds if I don't answer that phone! Ah!" She squeals as he whips her forward scooping her on top of his chest._

 _"_ _Well, in that case… you can have it."_

 _"_ _That's what I thought." She laughed nodded against his lips kissing him._

 _"_ _On one condition."_

 _"_ _Oh yeah? What's that?"_

 _"_ _We take one of those self-pictures."_

 _"_ _Are you trying to say a selfie, grandpa?"_

 _"_ _Yes!"_

 _She laughs at loud at the absurdity of his request._

 _"_ _Why do you need a selfie?"_

 _"_ _So, that you can look at it and think to yourself 'damn, I'm lucky to share my mornings with that handsome son of a bitch.'" He smiles before shrugging and his features turn more serious. "So, that we can just freeze one moment from these mornings."_

 _She feels herself soften staring down from atop of him, and she realizes she is straddling a very thin line in all of this. Right now, though, she doesn't seem to care._

 _"_ _Deal."_

 _He wiggles his eyebrows pulling her closer to him._

 _"_ _Alright Davis. This is about to be the selfie of all selfies. 3…2…1…"_

She gazes with a heavy heart at the picture of the two of them. They were wrapped in the sheets and she was smiling brightly at the camera as he was kissing her cheek. She locked her phone as she closed her eyes tightly.

She missed him.

She missed him so much.

The very prospect of that scared her more than humanly possible. Their argument before she left had reverted her back to the eighteen year old girl she spent so long trying to suppress. Everything was out in the open again, and she was more confused than ever.

Her phone softly vibrated in her hands, and she knew who it was before she even looked down. 'Lucas' flashed across the screen of her phone just like it had 36 other times in the past 8 days. She went back and forth with whether to open it or not. That debate hadn't lasted very long.

 _Dan's dying I need you Brooke I need you so much_

Bringing a hand up to her mouth, she finds herself at a complete loss.

 _I need you to need me back!_

The words unconsciously play over in her mind. The words still haunt her, but before she has time to delve on it she is already walking down the steps. Ignoring the calls from her mother, she picks up her phone and dials Millie.

"Hey Millie. It's me. I need you to find me the first outgoing flight to Tree Hill."

XXXX

Walking up the slight hill, she saw the burial site. She had spotted him from afar at the funeral mass, but he had not seen her. The very thought of them talking sent shivers up and down her spine. She felt her hand shaking and she clenched it to try to gain some control.

"You okay, Brooke?" Peyton rubbed her back giving her some encouragement and she felt even worse.

'No, I'm actually not okay,' She wanted to say. 'I've actually been sleeping with your soul mate for the last four months.'

"Yeah. I'm okay. I just can't imagine how Lucas and Nathan are feeling with all of this."

She hated herself for creating the position she was in. She swore to herself that she would _never_ under any circumstance do to Peyton what she did to her. Although, she and Lucas aren't together, it would crush her nonetheless. She felt sick.

She followed her blonde friend's line of vision and landed on another blonde boy who bore an all too familiar broody expression. He looked so broken… so … lost.

He's holding Jamie and she can't really tell who is comforting who. Something tells her though that maybe they're comforting each other. The little boy whispers something in his ear before pointing in their direction and her whole chest feels like it may erupt. Lucas follows the little boys pointed finger and she feels his entire gaze lock on her. It takes everything out of her to not walk up to him right then and there and hold him. But, she can't.

"I just want to be there for him." And suddenly she remembers that Peyton is standing there over her Lucas haze.

"Yeah… Me too…"

XXXX

She's here. Holy shit, she was here.

When she hadn't answered, he had started to assume that she was still latching on to whatever space she said she needed prior to her leaving for New York. Now, he just felt like a moron for ever thinking that she would do something like that. Of course Brooke had come. She always lived up to her end of the deal.

 _"_ _I watched you rescue Peyton, and you told me you rescued Dan. And sometimes, I just wish you could rescue me."_

 _"_ _From what?"_

 _"_ _From all of it."_

 _"_ _Okay, then. I will. If you promise to rescue me back."_

 _"_ _I promise."_

He blinked harshly past the memory as he felt Jamie pulling at his suit jacket.

"Uncle Luke! Aunt Brooke is back!"

"Yeah, buddy. She is."

He sat there nearly immovable as the two women walked towards them, and his throat ran nearly as dry as the Sahara Desert. She took off her sun glasses, but doesn't meet his eyes as she stands behind Peyton who has taken the moment to make her way to him. Jamie jumps off his lap to run into the arms of Brooke who bends down picking him up and kissing the little boy on the cheek tenderly. He can't seem to rip his eyes away from the pair and he's sure Peyton sees his trance.

"Luke, I am so, so sorry."

"Thanks, Peyton. It really means a lot to me you being here."

"Of course. I am _always_ here for you."

It was strange place they found themselves in. They were friends. They talked almost every day; however, they began to diverge on one fundamental thing: their feelings. He knew where he stood. And he knew she stood in a very different place. So, they were stuck in this limbo. He knew she loved him, and even more than that he knew she was very confused about how he felt. And he did love her. But, God he was so in love with her friend standing only a few feet behind her. And he needed to tell her exactly that. Soon. She deserved that much.

He forms a tight lipped smile nodding in appreciation as she leans forward hugging him. Over her shoulder his eyes finally lock with hers. He can see a flash of darkness pass through her eyes at the display of affection Peyton is evidently showing him. And he feels himself withdrawing from the hug, and smiling down at Peyton before taking a step forward in her direction. She whispers something in Jamie's ear before placing him down.

"Hey Luke."

It takes almost everything out of him to not break down right here on the spot in front of all these people. All the emotion he had been bottling up and battling over the last few days seem to bubble up at the sight of her. He bites his bottom lip feeling his eyes brim with tears.

And before he can collect any other form of thought, he embraces her in a hug. Burying his head into her shoulder, he closes his eyes holding her for the short time that he knows he has.

"I'm so glad you're here." He whispers into her ear. As the moment passes, and they separate from each other, and they make their way to their places for the service, she doesn't take her eyes off of him once.

XXXX

He loosens his tie as his sister sits on his lap. The whole day seemed to be a blur, but he was able to find focus when it came to one thing: her.

They had all come back to Nathan and Haley's for a luncheon following the burial. He had spoken to countless people today and the faces all seemed to get lost in the mix. He had been looking for her the entire time anyway.

In between the obligatory conversations, he waited for a stolen glance or lapse of space that would lead him to her. God knows she wouldn't speak to him in front of all these people. Not the way he would have wanted anyway.

"Mommy has pictures of her. She talks to her on the phone a lot. She let me talk to her a bunch of times."

"Who, Lil?"

"Her." She points up modestly burying her head into his chest embarrassed. He realizes now that she's talking about Brooke.

"Has mommy ever told you about her?"

"She sends me really pretty dresses."

Of course she had. Brooke always had this amazing way of surprising him.

"Did you know that makes them herself?"

"She does?" Lily looks up in childlike amazement.

"Yeah. She does. She does all kinds of really cool things."

"She's pretty like a princess, too."

He smiles a tight lipped smile at his sister before kissing her forehead and setting his sights back on Brooke.

"She is, isn't she?"

XXXX

He rubs his hands over his temple for what feels like the millionth time of the day before resting his head in his hands. The last few weeks have felt like a whirlwind, and he's not sure he can keep up with the emotional toll it is taking on him.

"Hi."

The voice is small and quiet, but he would have recognized it from anywhere. The rasp could send shivers up his spine no matter how many times he heard it. He looked up to see her standing there timidly and he turned over his shoulder to look inside to see if anyone had noticed that it was just the two of them on the deck.

"Hi."

"I'm sorry I haven't found you before now."

"You're here. So, don't apologize. That's the only thing I needed."

She plays with the ring on her finger; a habit that he knows she does when she's nervous.

"How are you, Luke?"

"I'm not really sure." He laughs humorlessly twirling his beer bottle. "He told me about that day; the shooting. And I swore to myself if I ever came face to face with him and heard him tell me the story of what happened, I would do whatever it was that I could to say something that gave him even a fraction of the pain that he inflicted on me and mom. And I can't even put it into words, but I believed him. I forgave him." He shakes his head feeling his jaw slightly quiver as he rubs his hand over it to regain some control. "I know it sounds crazy, but it was like I could feel Keith there with me. I felt him, and it was like he was pushing me to do just that."

"It's not crazy. He's always been with you, Luke. He never would have wanted you to carry that much hate in your heart. Forgiving Dan was something Keith would have wanted for you. It was the man he was, and it was the man he raised you to be."

She somehow always knew exactly what to say to ease him. She knew when to listen and when to offer him words when he needed to hear them. Sometimes, he's not sure she has any idea just how much just her mere presence has made a difference to him.

"I spent all these years on the outside looking in on the father that I never had. I never knew him, you know? I never understood him. And I was sitting beside him listening to him talk, and I felt like I understood him."

"What do you mean?"

"He talked about my mom. He told me that he was scared of owning up to all the mistakes he had made. So, instead of telling my mom just that, he clung to his pride. He ran. He spent a lifetime running."

"And that made you understand him?"

"I never told you this, but the night that I called you to meet me at the airport was the same night that Lindsay came to see me."

She stays silent clearly aware that he is far from done with this story.

"She came to say goodbye. The book was done. Any ties we had left were wrapped up. So, she turns to leave and I know that I need to say something. Anything. If I made any semblance of a declaration for her to stay, I'm pretty sure she would have." He pauses nodding to himself reflecting on that very sentiment. He knows she would have, but did he want her to? "But, the only thing I could think to say was 'do you ever miss me?' And I must have sat on the river court for hours wondering why the hell that was the only _stupid_ God damn thing I could think to say and I realized it wasn't about Lindsay. It had nothing to do with her at all."

"Then what was it about?"

"When you broke up with me, you told me you stopped missing me. And I didn't say anything. All the voices in my head screaming at me to just say what I felt got strangled. I saw everything slipping away and I got scared. I let you walked out that door, and as screwed up as I let everything get I never once stopped asking myself that question. Did you ever miss me?"

"I'm not sure what you want me to say."

"You do, though. You know the exact answer. Whether it's yes or no, you know the answer. I'm asking you to say anything. Say what you feel, Brooke. We've spent way too long dancing around everything that we want to say. Stop running."

"This isn't the time, Luke. Everyone is inside. _Peyton_ is inside." She emphasizes the blonde's name, and he wants to cringe.

"Brooke, _please_ stop bringing Peyton into this. This is about _you_ and _me_."

"Is it, Luke? God, you have some balls. I wish it were simple enough to not bring Peyton into it, but it is. And if you don't understand that, then I'm not sure we even should be having this conversation."

"Enlighten me then, Brooke, please!"

"You still don't get it." She shakes her head as a sad smile spreads across her lips. "You wrote a freaking book about her, Lucas! Blah blah blah and every instinct to the contrary had simply been denial of the following truth- I was now and would always be in love with Peyton Sawyer. Is that ringing any bells to you? Or even better let's talk about how you proposed to her. So, yes, Lucas, Peyton _is_ in this."

The hurt clouded in her eyes knocks him down two pegs, and he realizes that his words have finally come to haunt him. His ambitious story that had been just as much a story as it had been a memoir was causing her to look at him like he had just punched her in the gut. And it makes him nauseous.

"Brooke, I don't blame you for thinking any of that, and I know what it all seemed like, but…"

"Maybe I don't get it, Luke. And maybe I was idiot for allowing the last four months to happen."

"No, no. Look, there might be some things that right now you and I don't understand, but I know for certain that we _both_ know that these last few months are not one of those things. It was right. This is _right._ " He takes her hand in his own and she pulls away cursing herself silently.

"You know something, when I was in New York I realized something, and it was something that I've always known. I love you. And I probably always will. I wasn't lying when I told you those words all those years ago. And loving you was the best thing to ever happen to me, but it was also the worst."

He stays silent trying to discern what it was that she was saying.

"The worst… I don't… What do you…" He was fumbling with his words, and he felt that ever present batch of tears seem to reintroduce themselves yet again.

"Loving you broke me. And I had to learn to put all those pieces back together again. I'm not sure I could do something like that again."

"Brooke…"

Everything seemed to slow down around him and his mind raced. She was slipping right through his fingers, and he heard the one thing that sent him spiraling backwards.

"We can't do this anymore."

 _I can't do this anymore_

"Don't say that. Do not say that. I let you walk away before, Brooke. I will _not_ do it again. I _love_ you. I'm in love with you."

"We'll see." She shrugs her shoulder quickly wiping away the tears falling from her eyes. "If it's meant to be, it will be, Luke. I can't just hear the words. I need to see it."

"Okay, then." He wasn't conceding. He was finally deciding to fight. It doesn't mean it didn't come with a heavy heart, but if that's what she needed then he would do it. "I'll show you. You'll see how much I love you, Brooke Davis."

And before he can proceed, she's hugging him. To his surprise, she's hugging him, and not running in the other direction as fast as she can. And it gives him some hope that maybe their tumultuous past isn't thwarting their chance at a future. They may just have a future. He holds her tightly.

"Then I'll be here." She lets go still holding onto his biceps loosely. "We'll just have to wait and see."

 _"_ _Do you think that even exists anymore?"_

 _"_ _What"_

 _"_ _A love so strong that no person can come between it?"_

 _"_ _I sure hope so."_

 _"_ _Yeah. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."_

And then she's gone. He stands there processing everything had just happened, and as he stands there in his own little bubble he fails to see the pair of eyes inside who watches the entire scene.

Peyton.


	3. What If This Storm Ends

He sat on the steps of his deck taking in the crisp morning air with a cup of coffee. He was still clad in his red flannel pajama pants and a white undershirt as a smile crept over his lips as he watched an older couple walk down the street hand in hand. The smile slowly faded from his face. He wanted that. What he knew now after all this time was that he didn't just want someone. He wanted Brooke.

So often in his life he had simply loved love. Time and time again he had been given two roads; two choices. And when faced with fighting, he chose the easier path. He didn't want to love love anymore. He wanted to be in love. And he was. He wasn't about to let that go.

He looked at the couple once more before staring down again at his coffee.

 _He shook off as he enters the store collecting himself from the mad dash he made from his car to the door as the rain poured down. Removing his coat to reveal his thermal, he made his way to the back of the store where he could hear the faint sound of music. Peeking through the door, he watched her there for a moment as she sketched. He could see the tiredness in her eyes, and he knew her stress level was rising as each passing day meant one day closer to her deadline for her sketches. He marveled at her as she moved the pencil across the pad. He knew she would change the world one day, but she still continued to amaze him._

 _She looked up rolling her neck and her eyes landed on him causing her to jump in momentary shock._

 _"_ _God! You scared me! Nothing like lurking in doorways on creepy, rainy nights. Jeez!" She laughed as she stood up and he felt his cheeks grow red with embarrassment._

 _"_ _Yeah. With Tree Hill's track record of psychos that probably wasn't my best move, huh?" He finds himself laughing too as he enters the room._

 _"_ _I guess I can overlook the Psycho Derek move if there's something really,_ really _good in that bag right there?" She kinks her eyebrow and he rolls his eyes at her comparison._

 _"_ _Maybe." He feigns cockiness as he swings the bag softly in front of him._

 _"_ _Patience isn't my virtue, Lucas! What'd you bring me?" She smiles and her eyes glow with the childlike wonder he had always known her to have._

 _"_ _Well, for starters, sweet and sour chicken with fried rice, and an egg roll." He says with enthusiasm for mock emphasis. "And then for the gruesome night that lies ahead…" He removes a wine bottle. "Steaming hot coffee that I put in a wine bottle so I would look super cool and suave." Modeling the wine bottle in front of him, she giggles at him taking a few steps forward examining all the contents._

 _"_ _You just might be my hero."_

 _"_ _I was hoping you would say that." He says seductively as his face hovers above hers._

 _"_ _How did you get the cork back in the bottle? You suck at that without me." She giggles putting her hand on his chest._

 _"_ _I suck at a lot of things without you." He meant to say it casually, but he knows it came out far more serious, and he knows that he meant it._

 _"_ _Why does this not feel like a friends having casual sex drop by?" He knows why she tries to divert his serious comments. He understands it, but sometimes he just wishes that she wouldn't._

 _"_ _Maybe it's a little more than that."_

 _Before she can argue, agree, or anything in between, he kisses her. And maybe he'll never know her retort at that very moment, but God did it feel good to hold her in his arms and kiss her._

 _"_ _I think …I can take… a break." She says in between kisses as he only nods against her mouth closing the door behind him picking her up around and wrapping her legs around his waist._

"What are you smiling about?" The warm voice of his mother fills his ears as she takes a seat next to him.

"Hey ma."

"You're up early."

His mom had been home for about a week since the funeral. He hadn't expected her to come home for it yet alone cry, but the tears had come in the masses. He assumed it had a lot more to do with the Dan she once knew then the Dan that she come to know. He supposes he always knew that was there though.

 _"Mom, you loved Dan, right? In high school?"_

 _"Oddly, yes."_

 _"Okay, I know you probably can't answer this for me, but what did you do when he didn't love you back? How did you get over it?"_

 _"When I do, I'll get back to you."_

He knew the feeling.

"Yeah, just thinking." He pauses momentarily. "It's really good to have you home, mom."

Wrapping her arm around his shoulders, he melted into his mom.

"This place is really different without you, you know?"

"I've been thinking about that. It's got me thinking that I'm not so sure I want to stay away anymore."

He perks his head up to this as a growing smile forms on his mom's face turning into a full blown laugh.

"You're coming home?"

"I think it's time."

He lunges forward hugging her.

"And what exactly am I coming home to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just because I've been gone for a little while doesn't mean I don't know my son. You have that look."

She could always see right through him. If anyone was going to see through his thoughts of the past few months, it would be his mother.

"I have a lot of looks, mom."

"Sure, you do. One for Peyton. One I'm sure for Lindsay. And another for a certain someone I know."

"That's being a little presumptuous, isn't it?"

"Presumptuous or motherly wisdom. Or…" She smiles before making a silly face. "It may have actually been the puppy dog eyes you had for her all day at the luncheon. But, what's the difference really?"

He laughs as she leans into him raising her eye brows, and he knows that if he can be honest with anyone about this right now, it's her.

"Was I that obvious?"

"About as subtle as a punch in the face."

"Great! That's great." He laughs shaking his head at himself. "We've kind of … rekindled these past few months."

"Where does that leave the two of you now?"

"I'm in love with her, mom. I've thrown that term around pretty loosely though over the past few years, so I'm not sure she believes it, but I do. Somehow, I'll make her believe it too."

"Why do you believe it?"

"When I proposed to Peyton, she didn't even say no. She just wanted to wait a year. She wanted me to trust that our love could make it _one_ year. She wanted to be together. All I had to do was wait, and I had her forever." He looks down thinking about it all. "I couldn't do it. I just walked away. My _soulmate_ told me we could have forever and I walked away. And in all the time after it, I finally understood it. I proposed to her because I scared of losing her. I saw us drifting and I reacted. I couldn't lose the girl that I had lost so much for. Then, I had to open my eyes. When I did, I couldn't stop seeing what I lost, and it was her; right in front of my eyes. I loved her from the minute I came back from Charleston. But, I know her, she needed to see that me and Peyton couldn't work, and I was stupid enough to take that bait because I thought she stopped missing me. I believe it because time and time again it comes back to Brooke Davis. I can't keep running from that."

His mother forms a knowing smile on her face and he finds it contagious.

"Okay, what are you smiling at now?"

"Well, I was secretly always pulling for the two of you."

"Why?"

"I think I see a lot of myself in Brooke. When I first met her, I didn't know what I was going to think about her. And then she spent hours asking me about your childhood and decorating your hospital room and wanting to make you a scrapbook. In the process, I guess she won me over, and never really stopped."

XXXX

She turns down a familiar road, and stares reminiscently at different landmarks of the street. The park bench on her left by the river bank was where she and Peyton would meet whenever her parents had gotten into yet another blowout fight. The large oak tree next to the bridge was where she and Peyton had carved ' and BFF 4evr." Her heart ached as she thought of this. She and Peyton were still best friends, but things had changed. And she _really_ missed her friend. And she hates that a boy ever put a wedge between the girl who was in the purest form her family.

But, he had.

The radio filled the car with _Hit Me Baby One More Time_ and as she parked her car her head fell against the head rest thinking back to just a few weeks ago.

 _The chords of the throwback song filled her car as her jaw immediately dropped and her eyes lit up. Immediately turning the volume, she giggled watching Lucas slouching his shoulders doing his best to mock disdain at the song._

 _"For the sake of my health can we_ please _turn this off?!"_

 _"Sorry! No can do! This just happens to be one of the pivotal songs of our generation!"_

 _"Oh! Oh, God! That very statement cuts me like a knife!"_

 _"You know you could use a little more Britney in your life. It might take the edge off the broodiness!"_

 _"Or kill me. Either or."_

 _"Oh baby, baby"_

 _"Is there blood coming from my ears?"_

 _"How was I supposed to know?"_

 _"Cause it feels like there might be?"_

 _"That something wasn't right here. Oh baby, baby."_

 _They exchange lyrics and words interchangeably and she can't help but to laugh at the look on his face. She knows he's playing along, and she gladly decides to play along._

 _"I don't know whose singing is worse hers or yours?" He laughs as she hits him across the chest playfully._

 _"Show me, how you want it to be." She continues to sing the popular lyrics as she does dance moves with her right hand in front of his face._

 _He covers his ears doing his best to cover up his smile. His beautiful smile…_

 _"You know you want to sing it…"_

 _"I'm not so sure about that…"_

 _"I know you want to…"_

 _He stares at her at the corner of his eye and just as she begins to sing the chorus she hears his off key voice._

 _"My loneliness is killing me. I must confess, I still believe. When I'm not with ya, I lose my mind! Give me a sign. Hit me baby one more time!" He sounds tone deaf as he puts on one of the worst performances she's sure she's ever heard. But, there's something about the way he tried to dance and sang the words to a song that she knew he hated. And as she tried to get over the giggles that inevitably continue to come, he leaned over._

 _"I guess the songs not so bad after all." He whispered as they came to a stop at a red light and leaned over hovering above her lips before kissing her._

She clicks off the radio abruptly resting her head against her headrest closing her eyes tightly. To top off the war of words raging within her mind, she now had to meet with Peyton.

She stares at her friend who is sitting with her legs hanging freely over the concrete embankment beneath the bridge. It had been their spot. She's not sure how many times she had seen Peyton in this exact position; hundreds, maybe thousands, of times? Now, when she saw her she saw him too. Times had changed, she knew that. But, she still ached for the time when she would come here and it just felt like the two of them against the world before it seemed like the world had thrown that back in their faces

She gets out of the car tucking her keys into her pocket. Walking tentatively towards her, she can't help but to wonder what this is all about. They hadn't met at this spot in years…

 _"Thought I'd find you here. I remember when I found you down here after your mom died."_

 _"That was eight years ago. You know Ellie used to watch us down here? She told me that once."_

 _"It's not going to be like that this time, Peyton. You're not going to lose Lucas and Haley like you lost Ellie and your mom."_

 _"What like I lost you? I miss you, Brooke."_

 _"I'm still here."_

 _"Can we be friends again, please?"_

 _"Sure."_

 _"Like before"_

 _"I'm sorry, Peyton. I don't think so. Like before is gone."_

"Hey. I'm glad you came." Peyton smiles genuinely as she pats the spot next to her.

She snaps out of her thoughts to take a seat next to her, and she felt herself grow nervous. She wanted to tell her that she was still here. She was always here. She had never stopped wanting to be here, and she's sorry that their friendship had gotten to the point where she was too damn scared to even say any of this out loud.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" Peyton asks almost as if reading her mind.

"I remember every time we were here." Her voice seems to get lost within itself shrouded in emotion.

"Brooke…"Peyton breaks her eye contact with her as she exhales suddenly staring down at her intertwined hands. "For most of my life, I preached and practically tattooed across my face that people always leave. But, the thing was that wasn't entirely true. You were my friend, my family, and everything else in between that. Even when I didn't deserve it, you were there." She shrugs her shoulders as a lone tear escapes her eye. "You never left."

"And I'm not going to, Peyt. What's going on?"

"Because it's different now, isn't it?" Peyton begins to cry, and she finds herself dangerously close to allowing herself to as well.

"No. No, we're still us." She's lying. She knows that. They're friends; best friends. They love each other, and she knows that they would do absolutely anything for each other. But, things were different. They always had been since him…

"Liar." She laughs softly wiping away the tears in her eyes. "I know that I look through so life with microscope back then. I saw what I wanted to see when I wanted to see it. I focused my lens to what I needed, and I didn't see what you needed; what you wanted. I didn't see what was right in front of my eyes."

"What was there? What do you mean?"

"You. Him. Us."

Her eyes burn and threaten to spill over with tears. They hadn't spoken about this in years. She could bury it when she talked about Lucas. She had gotten good at that. But, with Peyton, she had never been able to.

"That was a long time ago."

"Was it?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"I saw the two of you at the luncheon. I'm not sure what it was that I saw, but I know Lucas and I know you. It looked like something more than whatever story you're going to feed to me right now."

"Are you trying to say that I would lie to you?"

"No." She pauses clearly trying to rein in whatever she was doing. "No, I'm saying that you don't feel like you can tell me. You haven't for a long time. And I know that I did that to myself. I just wish that you saw that even though I did these things to our friendship that I still want the absolute best for you. I want you to be so insanely happy Brooke. You deserve everything in this world, and I think you're holding yourself back from that."

"Why?" Her voice is just below a whisper.

"Because of me." She laughs humorlessly almost embarrassed of herself. "Because you would and have always done everything for my own happiness."

"Peyton…"

"Brooke, what's going on with you and Lucas?"

"Nothing." Her own words feel like a punch to the gut as she chokes it out exasperatedly.

"Okay." She stares off disappointedly. "You know something? I don't know maybe I've had too much time on my hands lately to be thinking into things. But, I've been thinking that I've been buying too much stock in what's supposed to be. I think it's time that I call it all what is. Let everything play out like it's meant to. It finally feels like whatever happens is okay."

They sit in silence for a moment both staring out toward the distant river. She feels Peyton's hand softly squeeze hers, and she looks over at her.

"I love ya, B. Davis. I don't want to sit here again a few years from now and wonder why our friendship got lost between the cracks of life. Like, I said people don't always leave. Sometimes they stay. I want to keep it that way."

She couldn't form any words. She was so stunned in the moment that she found herself merely sitting there nodding her head through a barrage of tears. Peyton stood up as she turned to walk away, she looked back once more.

"And Brooke? Whatever I saw, if it was anything, then I want you to know it's _okay_. It will all be okay. And if there ever is something going on between you and Lucas, well… I hope you'll tell me."

What had just happened?

"Peyton!"

She turns around once again smiling softly at her.

"Maybe I'm not really sure what's going on."

"When you do, I'll be here."

XXX

He chased the basketball as it rolled towards the picnic table. Running towards its trajectory, he leaned down and looked up to see a familiar face walking towards him. He removed his iPod ears as he watches her make her way towards him.

"Hey. What are you doing over here?"

"Just taking a walk, and I ended up here."

He tried to steady his breathing from all the running as he wiped away the sweat from his face.

"Want to sit down?" He said in an attempt to ease her. He could tell Peyton had something weighing heavily over her.

"Sure."

As they sit down, he watches her every feature. He used to watch her from afar, and wish he could get inside her mind. She had been so enigmatic to him. He had been so desperate to understand her intricacies. And then he had learned them. He knew her in the most intimate way possible. And the love he had for her then was still very much there. He just learned it was a different love than the love he interpreted it as. He would always love Peyton Sawyer… as one of his dearest friends, his soulmate of another definition.

"You and Lindsay haven't been together for almost five months now." She pulled him out of his thoughts. It had never been like her to tip toe around saying what she felt, and he knew she wouldn't deviate from that now. "We talk every day. I know that, but I'm also not under any illusion that this is anything beyond that. I guess… I just want to know if what we had was left behind in that hotel room. It's my dream, you know that, but is it yours?"

"I wanted it to be so badly."

"But it's not, is it?"

"That's the thing. It is my dream. You are my dream, Peyton. I fell in love with that dream when I was seventeen years old. And then life happened. And I realized that I didn't have to dream anymore. She brought all of it to life. And I didn't spend much time dreaming anymore. And when she went away, I had to dream again. You are my dream, Peyton Sawyer. I just can't keep sleeping."

"It's her, isn't it?"

"Lindsay and I are over, Peyton."

"I didn't say anything about Lindsay."

He finds himself stumbling on his words, not because he didn't know what to say, but because he didn't want to somehow rub salts on the wounds of the love triangle. Despite it all, he still really cared about Peyton, and he wanted to do this right this time.

"I'm not even really sure how it happened." He smiles nervously. "It snuck up on me all those years ago and then all at once. So, I guess that me telling you this right now makes it all real." He takes a deep breath. "I love her. I wish I didn't. God knows, this would all be so much easier if I didn't. But, I do. I love Brooke."

"I think I somehow always knew that." She makes a noise that he can't quite decipher between a laugh and a cry. "It's weird, isn't it? You invest some much of your life towards one thing; something that you believe you absolutely can't live without. And then, you find out you can. You see that it can be okay. It's a really weird feeling." This time he knows the noise coming from her lips is one of laughter, and he furrows his eyebrows curiously at her.

"What made you think that I had feelings for Brooke?"

"I saw you two talking after the luncheon. And the way you looked at her when we got to the cemetery. And pretty much every look you've given her for the last few months. I've seen that look before." She wasn't talking with resentment or anger in the way he thought she might have. It was more… empathetic, almost gratified even.

It was a call back to what his mother had said to him this morning; the _look_. He wonders if he really never demonstrated such a look for anyone else. But then he knows that's a silly question. He only really ever had eyes for her.

"I really do love you, Peyton."

"I know."

"The thing is Brooke…" He treads carefully. "She loves you more than anyone. She always has. And that's why I'm not sure we even have a chance, but…"

"You need to try."

She finishes his sentence for him, and he's taken aback by the woman before him.

"After the shooting, you found me in the library. I had just kissed you and told you I loved you. I know I was thought I was dying and all, but that would have been this huge catalyst if you felt the same way about me. You know it had the first time around in junior year. But, you looked at me with this look of conviction and you told it was okay because you were completely in love with someone else; someone who happened to be Brooke. I should have known right then because that boy knew what he wanted."

"You want to relay that story to, Brooke?" Laughter cuts the tension between them and she brushes her bangs out of her face.

"I'm understanding here, but I'm not Mother Teresa."

He smiles widely and they simply sit for a few passing moments. He had once said 'I'll be seeing you' right here on the very court. He never could have anticipated that all these years later she would still be such a force in his life. He prayed that there would never come a time where he wouldn't be seeing her.

"I'm going to fight for her."

She forms a half smile before she steals the basketball out of his hands and stands up before passing it back to him.

"If you do, then you better not stop fighting. She deserves to be fought for."

He catches the ball against his chest taking her in with inquisitive eyes. She nods before backtracking waving softly.

"I love you both. And I told you that the most perfect act of love was sacrifice. It's time I stop saying it, and actually do it. Be happy, Lucas. Make Brooke so happy. I want to be here to watch it all."

And then she was gone.


	4. Runnin' (Lose It All)

He hears the car door of her Range Rover close as he looks over his shoulder dropped yet another candle into a small votive. Jumping to his feet, he grabs a lighter and waves it for her to see.

"I need your help."

"Doing what? Burning this place down?"

She laughs as she walks towards him examining his river court project.

"You're funny." He waves his index finger just in front of his face flashing a sarcastic smile. "And you can be as funny as you want after we finish this."

"Deal." She shrugs before stopping at the center of the court. "If you tell me what all of this is about."

He nods expecting this, as he takes out a familiar tin box from the back pocket of his jeans.

"I thought you might ask that. And since you're my best friend in the world Haley James Scott, here…" He tosses the small box her way as her arms lurch forward catching it.

"The predictions box?"

"Read the last one."

He waits as she opens the box and unfolds the aged piece of paper. Suddenly, she looks up at him with wide eyes.

"This year, I'll fight to make Brooke mine forever?" She reads it aloud as she drops the paper below her eyesight now only devoting her eyes to him.

"Haley you sat here and you told me that the only thing wrong with love and faith and belief is not having it. You were right. I lost myself, and in the process I lost all of those things. And when I look deep into my heart, I know exactly where I lost them. I saw all of it walk away when she did. I know my track record doesn't really corroborate what I'm saying here, but I'm asking you from the bottom of my heart to trust me on this. I love her. And this time I won't let her just walk away."

She looks around the court, and folds up the piece of paper back into the tin box before walking towards him.

"Lucas, you better look me in the eyes and tell me without a shadow of a doubt that this is what you want. I love you and I want you to find every happiness in this world, but I love Brooke, too. And I won't stand by willing and watch her crumble again."

"The first time me and Brooke were together it was physical." He shrugs not knowing how else to say it. It was true after all. "And then I came back from Charleston, and I found that this friend in her. And the closer we got, the more I realized that it wasn't just physical, it was love. That's why after we broke up we couldn't be friends. We could never just be friends. Sometimes, I think about it all and I realize how transparent all of this was. I was friends with Peyton for three years before we got together and there was never a single point where I felt any other than platonic feelings. All these years later, we tried the friendship thing, and here we are again. I don't want to lose another five years, and keep riding this merry go round right back to her. This is how it's always going to be. This time I'm doing something about it."

"So, is this all a part of some elaborate declaration?"

"It's a start. I just… I gotta try. I have to."

"And you want me to light me the candles?" A small smile creeps over her face, and he feels an enormous weight lift from his shoulders.

"I couldn't do any of it without you."

"Well, you're damn right about that." She walks over and reaches for the lighter at his side. "Let's go get your girl." She lights the lighter just before his face as she saunters off to the nearest candle. And all he can do is smile.

XXXX

The door swung open as she was greeted by the smiling face of her godson. On just about any day, no matter how down she was or how lost she felt, he healed her with that smile. Today, though, he seemed to remind her of one person. His sandy blonde hair and blue eyes could have fooled any outsider that Jamie was in fact the son of someone else. It was almost uncanny their resemblance. For a split second, her mind wandered off to wonder if that's what their son might look like….

"Aunt Brooke!"

She wants to thank him for bursting her fantastical momentary illusion. This is reality, and the reality is her and Lucas couldn't be together. Despite whatever "blessing" Peyton may or may not have been trying to give yesterday or whatever fight Lucas promised to supposedly put up, she knew the crushing blow of what losing Lucas meant to her heart. She simply wouldn't survive it again.

Yet, the thought still lingered in her mind.

"Hey handsome man." She kneeled enveloping him in kisses garnering laughter from Jamie.

"Hey Brooke." Nathan appears as he leans against the doorway with his arms folded and a huge smile across his face.

"Hey Tutor-dad." She says standing up taking a step into the house.

"Aunt Brooke I'm going to go try on my new basketball jersey to show you! I got dad's number!"

"Wow, the same number? I bet you have a better jump shot than your old man though." She kinks her eyebrow earning a laugh from Nathan as Jamie disappears up the steps and they make their way in to the kitchen.

"You're lucky my son is obsessed with you cause otherwise I'd have to kick your ass for a comment like that, Davis."

"Oh, please, Nate. You and I both know you need two things to keep you in check: Haley and Brooke Davis mockery."

"That may just be true."

"Speaking of which, where is that wife of yours?"

"She went to meet Luke."

"Oh." She realizes her voice comes out no louder than a whisper. It's been a week since she's seen or heard from him, and hearing about his whereabouts almost knocked the wind out of her. She supposed, though, that she should have known better. She sees now that Nathan has furrowed his eyebrows at her reaction to that sentence. "I was just hoping to see her."

"You okay, Brooke?"

"Yeah, sorry. My mind is just tracking slower these days. Works been kind of crazy."

She watches as he shifts weight between his feet leaning against the kitchen island.

"I know this might be more of Haley's territory…" He laughs a little at this. "But, let's not forget that I have known you since I was three years old. So, I like to think that I do know you, Brooke Davis."

"Sure, you do, Nate." She laughs at his sudden seriousness. "What's going on?"

"I haven't said anything yet to anyone. Not even Haley. I didn't want to assume anything, but like I said I know you, and I know my brother, and you two both do that voice-gets-strangled-in-throat-eyes-deviate thing whenever each other's names are brought up."

"And to think I thought you stopped drinking months ago." She quips trying to make a lighter atmosphere, but she knows he sees right through her.

"Something's going on, isn't it?"

"I'm not sure that there is anything that's going on." She answered honestly and she felt a sinking sensation coarse through her stomach.

"I always wanted whatever it was that made Luke happy. It wasn't for me to decide who or what I thought was right or wrong. I tried to stay out of it as much as I could, and I hope that it didn't seem like I favored anyone. Because truly when I look back, I see when he made his real choice."

She wasn't sure she could stomach much more of this conversation. She didn't want to hear another syllable of Lucas' path to choose Peyton. She could sit back and force a smile, but she couldn't talk about it. Not anymore.

"We know the choice, Nate." She musters up her best form of a smile. "So does all of America. It's okay. _Really_. You don't need to sift through words to comfort me. We've been over for a really long time."

Nathan looks confused and begins to shake his as if to disagree with her.

"He chose you." His eyebrows shoot up and the words are swallowed up in his throat. "It was right after he refused to take his HCM test. I told him there was something in his heart he was running from, and that he needed to tell the girl how he felt. I didn't name names. That night he broke up with Anna, called _Jake_ to help Peyton out of the mess she was in, and showed up at _your_ door. He saw you with Felix, so you never knew, but he looked into his heart without any solicitation and chose you. Maybe that doesn't make much of a difference now, but I thought maybe you would want to know that even if 'you're not sure if there's anything going on' between the two of you."

A small smirk dances across his lips and feels her heart beat accelerate at this story. How had she never known that? And did it really matter?

"Aunt Brooke! Look at my uniform! And dad bought me LeBrons!" He said as he came barreling down the steps modeling his shoes and uniform.

"Woah, check you out super star!" She says as she tears her eyes away from Nathan who smirks at her.

"Can I wear it to the movies?"

"As long as it's okay with your dad."

"It's okay. It'll be okay."

And she knows he's not talking about the outfit.

XXXX

He virtually jumps up from his seated position on the picnic bench on the outskirts of the river court edge at the sight of her BMW. She gets out of her car timidly and takes even more tentative steps as she makes her way towards him.

"Hey."

He had texted her to meet him here at 9 and to his absolute elation she had come.

"What is all of this, Luke?"

"I just wanted to tell you something." He can't help but to feel like he's smiling so hard his cheeks may burst but he can't help it.

"And the candles?" She gestures to the hundreds of tiny votive candles outlining the river court.

"Ah, they just build the drama of the announcement."

"You don't say anything for a week, and now you have an announcement?" She kinks her eyebrow, but the usual subtlety of humor is missing.

"I just needed to make sure that the first thing I said to you was exactly right."

"Luke, I don't want you to have to try. It should just _be_."

"Do you know the difference between a soul mate and destiny?" He decides to forego an answer to her previous question.

"Not off cuff." She laughs dryly almost irritated by his question.

"Well, a soulmate is a person ideally suited for another as a close friend or romantic partner. Destiny is a little more tricky. It's a hidden power believed to control what happens in the future. We have no say over it. It's fate."

"Okay, thanks Merriam Webster." She crosses her arms staring at him with curious eyes. "What's the difference to you?"

He grabs the basketball standing at his feet and softly jogs toward her as he stands at the elbow of the court.

"You see this spot right here?"

She nods as he feels his adrenaline begin to go into hyper drive.

"The night of the fantasy boy draft date I mopped all over this court. I told Rachel that you were the one for me. She didn't seem to think that anyone at eighteen could possibly know that. So, she wanted me to prove it. She stood me right here and blind folded me and told me to make the shot. She left it up to destiny that if you were the one I would make the shot." He twirls the leather of the ball through his hands smiling at the memory. "I can still remember standing there feeling my heart beating against my chest. I made it, Brooke. Maybe that seems like a really silly story, but to me it wasn't. When I saw that the ball went in, I realized that it wasn't just in my head that you were the one for me. You were destiny. I couldn't control it. I didn't have any say over it. It just was. Peyton was my soul mate, sure. But Brooke, you were and are and always will be my destiny."

"What happened in between then and now?"

"We'll get there. Look…" He shrugs fighting the urge to just kiss her. In all of her strength, she still had such a vulnerability to her and he wanted to take her small form into his own. "I know that we are way past the point of a few pretty words. I have a lot of proving to do. And all the questions you have, I have answers to. I'll give you each and every single one. I'm not in any rush though because I know that I'm not giving up on this fight. I just want you to see the past in the way that I see it. And I want to see through your eyes too. Somewhere, we hit this gap, and I know we can bridge that. I see a beautiful and crazy future for us because of the past that I know is there. It's the same past that came to life these last few months, Brooke. So, like I said I'll give you all your answers."

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you came to my house to tell me how you felt after your failed HCM test?"

"There's a lot you don't know about back then, Brooke." That very concept used to make him angry. Now, it only made him sad; sad that she never really knew the extent of how he felt, sad that their love story got buried beneath that of Peyton, and sad for the time they lost. "It's crazy, you know? I publish a memoir about my life and the funny is no one even knows the half of it."

"After everything we've been through, I don't even know where to begin with us. The last four months was… good, easy. We didn't have to face what we've built walls against."

"Just because it's easier doesn't make it better."

"I'm not sure I could ever do it again." She whispers out into the night sky and he pauses momentarily looking out over the lights of Tree Hill bouncing off the river.

"That doesn't mean I'll ever give up." For the first time all night, the composure of his voice is broken. "Give me a shot at this, Brooke. Give me a chance to fight. Maybe you find out that you can't do this. Or maybe we get everything we've ever dreamt of."

"Maybe."

It was a start to a future he saw no limits to. It was a start to the rest of his life with Brooke Davis. Maybe.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey Guys!

Not sure if anyone is still around or interested at this point haha. It's been a while and life has been crazy, but I haven't given up on this story. I still love writing and writing these characters. A new update should be up within the week, but I wanted it to be right. I have a vision of how I want the direction of how I want this story to go and didn't want to half ass it for the sake of getting an update in. I think you'll all really like what's coming! Stick with me and I promise it will all be up soon!

Hope 2016 has been good to everyone so far :)

Leave some messages to let me know whose still around and what you may want to see included in the story and maybe it will be included


	6. Believe

So, finally here it is ! It's been awhile but I think updates will be able to be made on a more consistent basis. So glad to see so many of you stuck with me after all this time.

A lot of you have been asking about Latch and after a lot of debate (at least for now) I'm going to mold my vision for latch into this story as well. Their main story is very similar and I think that's the best way to go about it. That may change, but for that's what I'm going with.

Also, I always like to have a song that carries the tone of the chapter. For this one, I'm going with Believe by Mumford and Sons. Give it a play while you're reading. It's an awesome song and I think it's really perfect for what's going on in this chapter.

There's so much more to come for this story and I'm really excited to hear all of your feedback!

XXXXXXX

She knocks on the door, and something feels different. What it is she can't quite put her finger on, but she knows something has changed nonetheless.

Something. Something. What was it? Her mind reeled as it bothered her that she couldn't place it.

 _I'll miss the girl behind the red door._

The door. No longer was she greeted by a black exterior that had long ago covered what had at the time been the sweetest gesture anyone had ever done for her. Red replaced it. And suddenly the door swung open.

"Brooke!" Karen greeted her with an amused smile before she lunged forward embracing her in a hug.

She remained stunned in the moment. He had painted it back.

Karen released her as she lightly held her arms in her basking in the fact that she was there.

"Admiring the artwork?"

"Yeah. I… I haven't seen it like this since I used to live here. Just took me back."

"It may have been a little deliberate. Lucas was adamant about painting it back."

"Huh. I wonder why." She replied feigning a naïve attitude still in a trance.

"Yeah. I wonder." She replies coyly. "That can wait though." She once again lunges forward hugging her.

"I missed you Brooke Davis."

"Ah, Karen, I missed you more than I could ever say."

"Come in. Come in."

She ushered her in as they made their way into the kitchen and to the living room.

She had a mother; a biological mother at least. But, Karen in every sense of the word was the mother who lived up to the maternal role her mother never had. Each and every single day she was grateful for everything Karen had and continues to do for her.

"Where are Andy and Lil?"

"He took her out to lunch in town. I'm glad they did. I really wanted to catch up with you. Since I've been home, I haven't spoken to you for our usual phone call. How are you?"

Since she had gone off to New York, she and Karen had spoken on the phone once a week and often more. Whether it was a purposeful phone call or to simply engage in lighthearted small talk, it had oftentimes been the highlight of her week. She couldn't put in to words what those calls and the never ending advice and support had meant to her.

"How am I? I'm fine. But, it's that new engagement ring of yours that we should be talking about." She squeals slightly as she takes Karen's hand in her own examining the new ring Andy had placed there a little over four months ago. "Karen, it's gorgeous."

"Well, thank you, Brooke." Karen laughs at her fascination of the ring. "He did a very good job."

"Good job? This is Tiffany." She gestures Karen's own hand to herself which elicits a chuckle. "That's not good. That's the motherland of engagement rings."

"Well, in that case, he did a great job. But, really how are you? How is life?"

"It's good. I just got an offer to expand the company into a children's line which has been crazy. My mom is still certifiable. Haven't slept much, but I'm here. And I have Jamie, and Haley, and Peyton, Nathan, Mouth, and …"

"Lucas."

"Yeah."

"He came to me about you, you know?"

She looks away bashfully, as she feels Karen's hand reassuringly squeeze her knee softly.

"You don't have to talk about it, and I certainly don't want to make you feel like you have to. But, you know that if you ever need to talk that I am always here."

"It's not that I don't want to. It's just that sometimes I don't even know what to say anymore. I've reached this point where I know how I feel. You know how I feel. You've known how I've felt for a long time."

 _"_ _Hi. I'm sorry for calling like this. I have no idea what time it is there, and you probably have a million things going on."_

 _"_ _Brooke, you know that my phone is always free for you. Is everything okay? Are you okay?"_

 _She stares out over her apartment balcony as the_ New _York City skyline illuminated the blackness of the night. She hadn't bothered to put a coat on. The bitter winter air made her feel numb. She needed to feel numb. She didn't want to feel. Feeling hurt. Feeling was the last thing she wanted to do. After all, she hadn't for so long… before tonight._

 _"_ _I just didn't have it in me to tell Haley, and Peyton… Peyton I just can't… and…" She begins to feel heaviness of tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Karen. This might be really strange for you…"_

 _"_ _Brooke, sweetie. What happened?"_

 _"_ _I love him, Karen." There was relief and pain intertwined in this revelation. Saying the words out loud had felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. It had been two years since she had even let herself think it, yet alone say it. But the pain of allowing herself to admit it was almost too much to comprehend. "I love Lucas, and … I don't know how to not. I don't know how to let him go."_

 _She can still feel the searing pain of looking him in the eyes just hours before and telling him the words that she didn't want to believe were true._

 ** _I feel lost, Brooke. I don't know what to do without her._**

 ** _Alright. You remember when I started Clothes over Bros? It was right after we broke up and I was trying to mend my broken heart by focusing on my word and you need to do the same right now. You need to go out there and become the best person and the bets writer that you can be and then you approach Peyton and if she comes back to you, you know it's meant to be. I'm gonna go, and you probably won't see me for a while. Lucas Scott is going to change the world someday and he doesn't even know it._**

 _He kissed her. He kissed her all the while he was reeling in the loss of Peyton. And that moment of his brokenness had set off a slide slow of past memories in her mind. Everything she tucked away urging herself to not acknowledge or feel had been unleashed to the forefront of her mind._

 _She loved him. And she never stopped._

"And now he feels all of these things, and I … I don't know what to say."

"How does what he's saying make you feel?"

"Feeling was never the problem. I fell in love with him when I was seventeen. I pictured what my whole life would be like with him, and I dreamt for it all the time. I never lost that love, and I never lost that vision. I lost the trust. I lost the faith… the fight. It broke me. And in all these years I kept pieces of him. He was always in my heart. I'm just not sure I was in his."

"I've gone back and forth with myself all morning on whether or not I should show you this or not." She stands up grabbing a blue expanding file folder from the coffee table and hands it to her. The words "work notes" are traced in sharpie on its front flap, and she stares back at Karen confused.

"I was looking for an envelope this morning and thought maybe I would come across one in Lucas' desk. I didn't find that, but maybe you're not the only one who was holding onto pieces."

She takes this as a gesture to open the folder that had been presented to her and so she opens its contents. As she turns it on its side, a small newspaper clipping falls out.

 **19 Year Old Davis Has Made NYC Fashion Scene Her Playground**

Curiosity gets the best of her and she digs further into the file.

 **Rising To The Echelon of Fashion Moguls Looks Easy For Davis**

Her first Vogue write up, and magazine after magazine article followed behind it. She flipped through the pages that had occupied that section of the expandable folder. Her eyes were drawn to the envelopes that occupied its center fold. She didn't even have to look inside the aged paper and past the loopy address transcribed on front to know what they were, or how many were there.

82.

82 Letters.

She ran her fingers over them as she let her hand rest atop them. The letters that she had poured her heart and soul into were staring back at her. He kept them. A single stray tear falls onto them and she wipes her eyes quickly.

Digging her hand into the back slot she pulled out pictures.

One of them smiling eyes full of wonder as he had her on his back with the ocean waves up to his waist…

Another of them as she was wrapped tightly in his arms as they sat enveloped by the large brown leather chair of Rachel's cabin…

And the photo booth strip of them that had once hung in her locker…

Picture after picture after picture…

"He might have been off on his own path, but he was still carrying pieces of you."

She's jerked out of her thoughts by Karen's voice.

"He uh… He kept all of this?"

"I don't know all that much about what's going on now with the two of you. I just know that love is a precious thing. When I look back on my life, I wish I hadn't wasted time making excuses for how I felt or fighting a love that I knew was there."

"Did Lucas put you up to all of this?"

"No. You actually put me up to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Because I'm so very proud of you, Brooke. I've watched you grow from an uncertain girl into a strong, beautiful, remarkable woman who hasn't even scratched the surface of all I know you'll do. You deserve to have all the love in the world. And for as long as I've known you you've only ever felt that love for Lucas. I showed you this because I understand all of your doubts and your fears and hesitations for why you wouldn't want to be with him again. But, for all those things I see confidence and hope and love in Lucas' eyes when he talks about you. I did it because I know my son loves you. And I know you love him. Nothing in this world would make me happier than knowing the two of you were happy… together."

"There's so many other factors outside the two of us."

"That's life. And there's only one way to conquer it all."

"How?"

"Belief… in each other."

XXXX

"Game." Nathan says as he steps back and takes a jump shot from the top of the key. As he eyes follow the ball sailing through the sky, he silently curses as the ball cascades through the net.

"I gotta let you stop winning like this." He flashes a smile as he retrieves the ball.

"Let me? Ha! Guess it makes sense that you're taking up comedy now that your hoop game has a losing record."

"Well, touché."

"So, let's make this interesting. I was going to wait for you to give me the whole spiel, but let's put it to a game instead."

"A game, huh?" He folds his arms through a smile truly amused by whatever Nathan had in store.

"A little bit of improvised horse. I take a shot. If you make it, then you're in the clear. If you miss, then buddy boy you better believe you're answering whatever question I have."

"I'll play along, but ya know." He passes the ball off to Nathan. "I'll answer whatever you want to know anyway."

"Let's make it interesting."

The scintillating melody of the piano invaded her auditory senses and she was struck by calmness. As she rounded the top of the stairs, she saw Haley consumed by the keys of the piano inside the recording studio.

As she made her way closer, Haley spotted her through the plexiglass divider of the studio. She waved smiling as she watched her friend eagerly get up from the piano seat exiting the small room.

"Tigger! Hi!"

"Oh hello Ms. Alicia Keys on the piano."

Haley laughs out loud as she waves off the joke with her hand.

"I wish! I'm just messing around with some stuff. Mia and Peyton are supposed to come in a little later to record so I wanted to get my studio time in a little early."

"Well, from the sounds of it you have some really special going on in there."

"We'll see. The process is testing my patience, but…" She shrugs her shoulders placing one hand atop her chest. "…I love it."

"It shows. You're doing great you know that, Tutor-mom?"

She was so proud of everything Haley James Scott had become. Once upon a time, she questioned the very presence of Haley in their circle. Now? Well, she couldn't ever imagine this life without her. And in nearly every way, she idolized her friend and the life she had built for herself and her family.

"Thanks, Brooke. But, ya know…" She's dancing around what she wants to say which had never exactly been characteristic of the Haley she knew. Which could only mean one thing…

She was about to bring up the very topic that seemed to be popular lately.

A topic that she couldn't quite escape.

"Lucas, he uhm… He called me to ask for some interesting help the other night."

"Oh yeah? What kind of help?"

"Just a couple hundred candles and a few dozen fire hazards. Ringing any bells?"

She repositioned her footing as she found herself uncomfortable by the direction of the conversation.

"Hales…"

"Brooke, I know how your mind works, and before you jump to conclusions know that I'm not mad at you for not saying anything. But, why didn't you say anything about you and Lucas?"

Nathan tosses the ball off the backboard before catching it midair as he slams it into the basket for a smooth slam dunk.

"You got your question because there's not a chance in hell I can pull that move off." He laughs shaking his head.

"Alright." Nathan takes the ball in between both of his hands as he juggles it back and forth between the two. "Why didn't you say anything about you and Brooke?

"Because for a little while, it was nice to live in a bubble; just me and her. You know? Before everything got complicated. I knew that if I opened my mouth about it, then that bubble bursts. And all the sudden, she doesn't just see how I feel about her or how she feels about me. She sees everything else. And after all this time lost, I just needed time… with her."

She shrugged doing her best to not let emotion overtake her voice.

"Because if I didn't admit it out loud, then I could keep pretending that I wasn't feeling what I was feeling."

"How did it happen?"

His shot clanked off the rim and he rolled his eyes playfully as he watched the smile emerge of Nathan's face.

"I think that means you have some more explaining to do there bro."

"Alright, alright, what was the question again?"

"How did all of this happen between the two of you?"

How did it happen? He let that question linger in his mind.

"Because I realized one thing. The same thing I realized after I came back from Charleston."

"What was that?"

"I could never just be friends with Brooke Davis." He said it in a way that may have been far too simple to the outside ear. To him, however, it rang true beyond any explanation.

"Because I think somewhere along the way my heart realized something before my head did."

Something deep down inside of her decided that there was no use in twisting the truth of her feelings to Haley.

"What did you realize?"

"I could never just be friends with Lucas Scott.

Nathan places the ball against his hip smiling largely.

"And have you told Peyton any of this?"

"Actually, yeah."

"Wow." Nathan's bottom lip slightly protrudes out as he nods slowly at this. "So, this is your choice?"

"Yes. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

"I've been waiting to hear that for a long time."

Reflecting on it, he knows he's only twenty three. He realizes that in terms of life experience he's just reached the cusp of the rest of his life. Looking back on his time as a young adult, though, he can't help but to feel like he's been through more than most in a lifetime. His love life is certainly a testament to that. And now, regardless of the outcome, he finally feels at peace knowing that once and for all he will do everything in his power to fight for the love of his life.

"You and me both."

"Ya know, Luke, I knew Brooke long before you ever did. She was lost and she hid behind a whole lot of things that hurt her instead of helped her. She's a lot like me. I don't know what I ever would have done if Haley hadn't trusted to wait around on someone like me. I guess what I'm saying is don't give up even when it seems Brooke is hesitant or even distant. She's worth it."

"So, you think we can make it work after everything we've been through?"

"Nah." His brother smiles widely as he places the ball in between his hands and turns to face the basket taking the shot. Turning back around as the ball sails through the air, he continues to flash his grin. "I know."

Swish.

"I'm not sure there's anything left for the two of us though. Too much has happened."

"I remember when I left to go on tour with Chris. It wasn't even about Chris. It was more about me taking this path of the life that I had always seen for myself somehow. And then once I did, I realized that none of it meant anything without Nathan. Part of me, no matter how stupid it ever was, needed to see that for myself."

"And you think that's what Lucas did?"

In the last few weeks, she kept hearing words. She had never placed much stock in them. Actions in time had always spoken far louder. But, word after word from person after person was beginning to resonate with her.

"I'm saying that love means giving chances when there are no more chances left to give. I know that I probably never deserved one after I came back, but Nathan gave it to me. Sometimes, we need to take chances on the people we love. It could turn out to be everything you ever wanted and more. It did for me, and in my heart I see that for the two of you."

XXXX

He hadn't been able to sleep much as of late, and not for a lack of trying. His mind simply wouldn't let him rest. Tilting his head to the side, the emptiness of the other side of his bed reflected in his eyes. Without her there, he felt so unsettled.

Staring at the ceiling lost in thought, he yearned for the nights where she laid beside him and dreamt of future nights where she would return to that very place.

He catapults into a seated position as his bedroom door leading to the deck squeaks open. As his adrenaline quickens his pulse, he sees her.

She's wearing a sweatshirt; the same sweatshirt she had worn on their many nights together; the same sweatshirt he had given her as an 18 year old boy in love. His Keith Scott Body Shop sweatshirt hung largely on her small frame as she stood nervously in the darkness.

"Hey. Hi. Are you okay?" He huffs out still taken aback by her arrival.

"I couldn't sleep. I got in my car, and I don't know. I ended up here."

Lifting up the covers on the opposite side of him, he pats the bed gently.

"Come here."

Walking over, she slips her shoes off before sliding underneath the covers. Her body molded into his as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed the side of her neck.

"Goodnight, Brooke."

And for the first time in weeks, they both slept soundly.


	7. Rivers and Roads

Thanks for the kind words last chapter guys! It gave me a lot of motivation to get this next chapter going and up for you guys! Nothing makes a writer happier than good reception and some good reviews haha.

So, here is the next chapter! I just want to say that things are just starting in this story. I'm not sure how many more chapters lie ahead (I'm thinking between four and five, potentially more), but there is a lot of story left to be told. And it won't be an easy, conflict free path for Brooke and Lucas. I also thought that if Brooke and Lucas were ever going to make it together again they were have to face obstacles head on and be able to face it together. I'm excited for you all to see where this story will go.

Titled this chapter off the song rivers and roads by the head and the heart. It's a great song. Give it a listen while reading.

Disclaimer: Characters, minor plots, and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwahn (sadly) and One Tree Hill writers. Also, a variation of a Friday Night Light's quote is used in this chapter and that solely belongs to its writers.

Enjoy and don't forget to review!

XXXX

His eyes feel heavy as he blinks past the tiredness of the early morning. Smiling through the fogginess of waking up, he feels like he had the most wonderful dream last night; a dream where she was there. As his senses caught up to him, he realized he wasn't alone. And his dream… well, it hadn't been a dream at all.

She was curled up next to him as his arm was draped atop her small body. She did come last night, and more importantly, she had _stayed._

She moved slightly, and he could sense that she had awoken. For a moment, though, neither of them said a word. Instead, they just simply laid next to each other basking in the stillness of each other.

"Morning." He finally spoke when she coughed softly.

"Hey." The rasp in her voice seemed amplified as she had just woken up. It was a sound he had always loved after a night spent with her. On this particular morning, he seemed to appreciate it even more.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Actually… good." As she turned to face him, he couldn't help but to smile at her. Mornings weren't always kind to everyone. For Brooke Davis, however, mornings had always treated her just right. She looked tired, but in a way that brought out innocent features on her face. Her eyes seemed to sparkle just a little more. It was as if the prospect of a new day had given them life. He could just lie here all day looking into her eyes to give him enough hope to get through his own day.

"I uh… I woke up and thought maybe I dreamed you being here." He laughs nervously. After knowing her for nearly seven years, she still had that effect on him. "I'm just really happy you did. I missed waking up next to you. It feels so empty without you…. I feel so empty without you."

"Been awake for two minutes and you're already getting to the serious stuff." Her laugh rings in his ears, and he can't help but to reciprocate.

His serious proclamations or speeches or whatever you wanted to call them had usually been meet with a deflection; a deflection that had left them both intense. Laughter was a step. Laughter meant that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't deflecting what he was saying, but rather absorbing it; even if just a little bit.

It was all a step.

"Maybe I'll push it back until lunch." Her dimples appear, and he almost wants to pinch himself to make sure that this moment is actually happening. That it still wasn't just a dream.

"The door… it looks nice." She said as she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. She noticed. His heart felt like it could burst at any moment.

"It needed some updating. It never quite looked right when it wasn't red."

He wondered if it was normal to look at some with such intensity feeling like just a simple gaze between two people could cause such fire within him. And if it wasn't normal, then that was fine with him. Loving Brooke Davis was far from normal.

His eyes roamed to his wall calendar and he realized something.

"It's Thursday." He mused out loud. He could see she was confused by this. "I do this… thing; every Thursday. I was thinking maybe you could come with me."

He realizes the ambiguity of his proposal, but felt that maybe it might be better that way.

"What kind of thing?"

"The kind of thing that I'd really love to have you with me for. If you can't or if you're not up for it, that's fine. It is. But, it would mean more to me than you know."

She mulls this over as she seemingly has come to a decision.

"Is a Keith Scott Auto Shop sweatshirt appropriate?"

"It's actually perfect."

XXXX

When the car had parked, she immediately identified where they were. As they weaved in and out of the head stones, she realized that this wasn't just any "thing." Reaching their destination, a lone tear slipped past her cheek.

 _Keith Scott_

 _September 18, 1968- March 1, 2006_

 _Loving Son, Brother, Friend_

She looked up trying to gauge Lucas' expression. Part of her was shocked that he had chosen to bring her here.

"Every Thursday I come here. Keith and I used to go out to the get pizza and watch a game every Thursday night when we could."

"I remember."

He nods smiling at this. There was a familiarity between the two of them that no distance had ever diminished.

"So, I come here on Thursdays. I just talk to him. I know it's not the same as those Thursday nights, but sometimes… Sometimes, it feels like he's here. I know he's here."

"He _is_ here, Luke."

His eyes remained rooted on her for a moment, and it sent a shiver up and down her spine. Moments like this could almost erase any doubt she ever had. Almost... And then suddenly he takes his eyes away from her and towards the gravestone.

"Look who I brought with me today, Keith. And you thought no one would wear your sweat shirts."

She laughs softly at this realizing the implication of his response as to why her outfit had been perfect.

"I've been really missing you, Keith; even more than usual. I have so many things I want you to be here for; so many things that I want to share with you. I just… I want to see your smile when you see Brooke here with me. I'd give anything to see that."

It was refreshing to see Lucas letting his guard down in such a vulnerable way. He had never really liked to let his emotions show. Instead, he had always opted to conceal his inner struggles. She had always thought it was because he was so used to being the saver instead of the one needing the saving. To see him in this light was something she wasn't accustomed to, but something that meant more to her than she could say.

He reaches and gently laces his fingers between her own. So, she squeezes back to let him know that she's here. No matter what happens, she would always be there…

"Hi Keith." She finds herself saying the words before her mind processes it, and for a moment she's almost embarrassed. It isn't until she sees the sincere appreciation in Lucas' eyes that she finds the strength to keep talking. "I miss talking to you in the mornings when lazy over here slept would sleep until eleven. I still haven't come across a cup of coffee as good as yours. I miss us making fun of Lucas' broody face." The sound of his laughter fills her ears. "I miss you. I really miss you." She finds herself crying and she feels like an idiot that Lucas was able to hold it together and she wasn't.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying."

"Hey." He swipes his thumb underneath her eye removing her tears. "It's okay. Don't say you're sorry. I wish you knew how much he loved you. He even warmed up on the tattoo."

Her tears make way to laughter.

 _So, what's your take on tattoos?_

 _I don't know. Depends._

 _Come here. What do you think about this tattoo?_

 _That tattoo is very, very sexy._

 _Right answer._

"That may not have been my best first impression, huh?"

"That's a very subjective question because to me… it was a _very_ good first date." He's the one smiling now, and she can't help but to join in unison. "Keith though, he wasn't much for judgments. It took him all of five minutes to see who you were. Your heart won him over."

"I'm so happy I got to know him."

"Me too."

He shifts his position so that he's standing in front of her now and she observes his features. He had grown up so much from the seventeen year old boy she had first fallen in love with. He was wearing a charcoal Henley shirt and jeans with desert boots. His beard was groomed finely against his face; just as she liked it. His eyes somehow looked older… wiser. The very notion of that may seem crazy to most. After all, he was only 23. In his mind, however, he had been through more than most had in a lifetime. His hair was grown slightly longer than a buzz and styled in the front. Gone was the lanky boy from the river court. Now, his chest was broad and his muscles hugged the arms of his shirt.

He had changed.

She had changed.

And she couldn't help but to think that that was a good thing.

"Thanks for being here with me, Brooke."

To that, she could think of only one thing to say. Something she had wanted so desperately so long ago…

"Thank you for letting me."

XXXX

Hearing the lock of her door click open, she pushed the door open. They hadn't stayed much longer at the cemetery before they decided to leave.

"Do you have any work to do tonight?"

"Is the pope Catholic?" She retorts dryly setting down her bag. "It's like I finish one thing and there's eighteen other things waiting for me."

She felt exhausted at the very prospect of this. She was 23 years old. Most at her age were lucky enough to have received their first job. She, though, had not only done that but had built that into a conglomerate growing by the day. All of the accolades and struggles fell on her shoulders alike. It was a lot for any person to handle, yet alone at her age.

"I remember when you were just sewing out of your old apartment. And now… Jeez, now you're running this empire, Brooke. I'm not sure there's anyone else that could have done what you were able to do."

She blushes at this, and shrugs.

"So, is it everything you ever wanted?"

That was a hell of a question.

 _Lucas Scott was the one boy I might have lost it for._

 _You should be focusing on the company, not boys with rings._

 _But, what about love, mom? Isn't that the key?_

 _In case you've forgotten, it's called Clothes over Bros._

 _Right. Okay. I'm in. High end line, the magazine; I'm ready to take it to the next level._

 _I am so glad to hear you say that. And I promise you, darling, we are going to have everything you've ever wanted._

Was it everything she ever wanted? No. She knew the second she agreed to expand her company that it wouldn't be. She hoped it would. She prayed that by some miracle it could be. But, it never was. And she knew that in a lot of ways it never would be.

"You know, it's given me a lot."

"What you wanted?"

 _Lucas Scott was the one boy I might have lost it for._

The words play over again in her mind.

"I don't even know what I want anymore."

"Sure, you do."

He knew just as well as she did that that answer was a cop out. She swallowed stiffly past a dry throat as he took a step towards her.

"And what do you want, Luke?"

"You."

"What else do you want?"

"You."

It had been almost a month and a half since they had last kissed. Despite all of her hesitations, she was running out of reasons to not do just that.

His eyes bore into her and she watched as his jaw clenched in and out; something she knew he did when he was debating. His crystal blue orbs seemed to make a decision and her body stiffens at the realization of what this is. Her adrenaline accelerates as he leans forward in a swift, forceful movement as his lips lock with her own.

His lips sent electrical currents through her body and he brought his hands up to cup her cheeks.

"Is… anyone… home?" She huffs out in between kisses.

"No… they… won't be."

They separate for a split second as she watches him devour her with his eyes. He slips two fingers into the waistband of her leggings pulling her closer to him as he returns his lips onto her own. He turns the direction of their bodies as he leads her back towards his bedroom never interrupting their kisses. Opening the door, they find themselves in a situation they haven't been in since his confession prior to her trip to New York.

And every confession and realization since…

In the months before that, she had been able to convince herself that it was just something physical. Under that pretense, it had kept the thoughts of her mind to a dull roar; albeit a roar. Now that everything was out in the open, she was terrified.

Almost as if he sensed this, he takes her in his arms slowing their pace. Resting his forehead against her own, he kisses her nose.

"We don't have to do this, you know? I don't want to rush anything. We don't have to rush a single thing."

 _He might have been off on his own path, but he was still carrying pieces of you._

 _That's life and there's only one way to conquer it all._

 _How?_

 _Belief… in each other._

 _I'm saying that love means giving chances when there are no more chances left to give._

 _Whatever I saw, if it was anything, then I want you to know it's okay. It will all be okay._

The words of Karen, Haley, and Peyton flash to the forefront of her mind. Chalking it up to the heat of the moment, she decides that maybe these words aren't so farfetched.

Dealing with the whirlwind of thoughts swirling through her mind, she decided that maybe she didn't want to think anymore. She had spent every second of the last four years overanalyzing everything. In the process, she became numb. Until she came home…

Home just happened to be with him…

She didn't want to think. Instead, she kissed him. He responded to her kisses as he lifted her wrapping her legs around his waist leading her atop of his bed. Resting her there, he climbed above her removing his shirt revealing his toned chest.

She slid her sweatshirt off in response to this, and she watched his eyes light up at this. As he leaned down to kiss her, she could feel him through his jeans. He slid her to the top of the bed nearly effortlessly as she reached up unbuckling his belt. The movements between them flowed fluidly. They knew each other's movements. They were familiar with each other's bodies. It felt like home to her…

He redirected her hand back down to her waist as his shifted his head towards her stomach trailing kisses lower and lower. Sliding down her pants, he began to kiss the top of her thong teasing her through the fabric before removing them as well. Tracing his tongue atop her, she grasped the comforter of her bed tightly in her hands as her breathing became staggered.

"Oh my God. Luke. Oh God." She called out writhing underneath him. She felt herself reaching her climax, and she just wanted him.

"Stop. Stop. Come here." Digging her fingers into his shoulders, she pulls him up towards her and he kisses her forcefully.

"Say it."

She didn't even have to ask to know what he meant.

"I want you."

Seemingly before she could even finish the sentence, he plunged himself into her. Thrusting himself into her over and over again, she closed her eyes tightly before opening them to look directly into his eyes.

"I need…" He says through uneven breaths. "…you."

His thrusts become harder and deeper as he brings his lips down to her own. She knew what it meant to have sex. She knew just how empty it could be, and she knew that it hadn't always been something that meant much of anything to her. With him, though, it wasn't just sex. With each passing moment, she felt like she couldn't possibly be closer to another human being if she tried.

His lips trailed down her jaw and his head nestled in between the crook of her neck.

"Oh my God, Brooke. I'm gonna cum. Jesus."

And she felt something she was quite certain she's known for many months now. She wasn't just having sex.

She could feel him finishing inside her as he whispered the words inside her ear that were circulating in her mind.

"I love you."

She was making love.

XXXX

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

His eyes open abruptly at the sound emanating from the door. 4:36 blinked on his bedside clock, and he realizes that they must have fallen asleep. His eyes landed back on her. She was sleeping soundly with her head resting atop his chest in only her sweatshirt. He smiled at this debating with whether or not he should answer the door at all. He didn't want to aid in any movement that might ruin this perfect moment.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Damn it."

He slides his arm out from underneath her as gingerly as he can before leaning over placing a chaste kiss against her hair. Sliding on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shit, he jogs towards the door.

As he slides through the opening shutting it behind him, he comes face to face with a man he's never seen before. His smile immediately strikes him, and he can't decide whether he finds it genuine or pretentious. He removes a pair of Ray Bans from his face as he continues to stare his way. He's clad in a white button down shirt and jeans. Something about him didn't quite seem like he was from around here.

"Lucas Scott." He laughs again. "You'll have to excuse me. It's really great putting a face to the name."

"Right. Uhm, I'm sorry. Who are you?"

"Your agent didn't call you? I spoke to them yesterday. I'm interested in optioning _An Unkindness of Ravens_."

The name of the book left him feeling like he'd been punched in the gut. The permanence of its words had haunted him more than he could say. He turns back towards the door making sure it's closed shut. Folding his arms, he looks back towards him.

"No, I haven't heard from him yet. So, you just happened to be in Tree Hill the very next day?"

He couldn't hide the skepticism in his voice.

"Well, yes and no." He continues smiling widely and the more he does it the more his distrust of the situation grows. "I'm just passing through on my way to New York, but I really wanted to get a feel for the people and places that inspired your book. It is _really_ great work, Lucas."

"Thanks, but uhm…"

He used to entertain the idea of making his book a movie. But now? Well, he squashed that idea pretty quickly. And there was one very large reason for that; a reason which happened to be lying behind his door.

"You probably feel a little ambushed."

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Right. I'm sorry. I understand. When I get inspired by something, I get a little obsessed. Not in a Peyton stalker sort of way, just… just driven."

He furrowed his eyebrows at this comment. He found it a little odd that he spoke about the characters like he knew them. He didn't know anything about them.

"I'll tell you what. I'm going to be in town for the night. Check out my credits online. If you're feeling it, give me a call. We'll grab a drink. You got plans?"

"Listen, I really appreciate you coming out here. I do. I'm just not sure this is a route I want to take. I wrote this book a long, _long_ time ago. A lot has happened since then. Things have changed. I'm not sure it's something I want to revisit all of that, especially on every big screen across America."

"Fair enough. If you don't, at least hear me out. If you don't like what I have to say, I'm gone. Okay? I promise. At the very least you get a couple free drinks from a guy who loves your work. Your agent has my number, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

He obliges to keep him off his back more than anything.

"Good. It's great to finally meet you, Lucas Scott. Your reputation precedes you."

He's not sure what it is, but that line rubs him the wrong way. Julian walks down the stairs placing his sunglasses on his head.

"Wait, a sec! Your name. What was your name?"

"Julian. Julian Baker."

And then he was gone.

XXXX


	8. Somewhere a Clock is Ticking

Here's the new chapter, and the best is yet to come!

Give somewhere a clock is ticking by snow patrol a play while you're reading and don't forget to review! It makes the story go up quicker :)

XXXX

She doesn't bother to knock on the front door. She never had. She found it nearly silly that she had been so excited for this day. Nathan and Haley were out of town for the day to see a sports medicine specialist for Nathan, so they suggested that she had Lucas take Jamie for the day. And she had more than happily obliged without realizing exactly what this day was. It was a day with Jamie and Lucas; the man who she had yet again slept with just two days before; the man who had been chipping away at her shell; the man who was making it very hard for her deny what she was feeling.

And somehow that made today all the more exciting for her.

But, she couldn't admit that.

As she walked through the house she didn't see any traces of the two boys in the kitchen or living room. Hearing a faint voice coming from what appeared to be his bedroom, she walked towards the door stopping just before the half open doorway.

"Was this yours when you were my age?"

She leans slightly forward as to keep her presence unknown but enough to see what Jamie was referring to. And when she realizes what he's referring to, she has to bite her lip to keep her from releasing a gasp.

Jamie was clutching a stuffed animal in his hands, and not just any stuffed animal. He was holding Angie's purple monkey in his hands. She immediately redirected her sights to Lucas whose eyes seemed to soften as he stared at the small monkey.

"That actually wasn't mine, but someone very, very special gave it to me. So, I keep it because it's really close to my heart. I'll never get rid of it."

"Kind of like how mommy keeps the cracker jack bracelet daddy gave her?"

"Exactly like that."

She clears her throat walking into the room, and she sees Lucas' eyes shoot up and a haze of bashfulness sweep across his features.

"Aunt Brooke!" Her godson runs over and envelops her in a hug.

"Hey buddy! I missed you the last few days." She hugs him tightly as she feels Lucas' eyes bearing into her.

"I missed you, too!"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"Me and Uncle Luke planned a really fun day."

"You did?!"

"Yeah. Ask me where we're going."

"Where?!"

"Well, since you asked…" She pulls out a ticket from her handbag. "Here."

She watches as his eyes light up as he realizes what the ticket is.

"Hornets tickets?!"

"Yup. We may be the coolest godparents ever and are bringing you to the game tonight which happens to be against your favorite player."

"Lebron?!"

"Yup." She smiles widely.

"Oh my God! Aunt Brooke, you're the best!" His tiny arms envelop her in a hug.

"What am I chop liver, dude?" Lucas chimes in.

"Thank you Uncle Lucas!" He runs over hugging his uncle as well. "We have to stop at my house so I can get my jersey! I need to go get my shoes out of my bag!"

He runs out of the room leaving the two of them alone.

"So, it looks like it looks like you have another guy that's in love with you. Do I have some competition?" He cracks his knuckles and she laughs. She's not sure what it is lately. He's been trying to keep her laughing. With the intensity of everything else, she appreciates moments like this so much.

"Please, you don't stand a chance. He's the cutest boy in town."

"Right." He laughs in that boyish way that always made her heart skip a beat. "Well, I guess we should get going if we want to make that lunch reservation."

"Yeah." She's about to turn to walk out of the room before she's compelled to say something. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for keeping Angie's monkey. That means a lot."

"Thank you for giving it to me. That means even more."

She smiles softly before spinning on her heel to go get Jamie and as she does she feels his hand pull back on hers spinning her back around. Feeling his lips collide with her own, he releases her with a reckless smile on his face.

"Just had to do that before we go." He walks by her brushing his fingers with her own. "Alright, buddy grab your bag we got to get going!"

And as he leaves the room, she realizes that maybe she wasn't so foolish for being excited today.

XXXX

"That was the best game ever! Did you see that dunk by Lebron?!" Jamie says emphatically waving his foam finger through the air as they walk through the concourse following the game.

"I used to be able to dunk like that."

"Ha! In your dreams!" She laughs loudly as Lucas feigns a look of hurt and Jamie laughs raucously.

"I can't wait to tell daddy. He was so fast and strong like this." Her godson mimics the movements of the athlete as Lucas turns to her smiling.

"So, are we officially the coolest godparents ever?"

"Yes!" The enthusiasm in his voice quickly makes way to a serious expression as the small boy shrugs. "Can you two get married? Then we could always do fun stuff together."

She opens her mouth to say something but quickly closes it feeling nerves take over her.

"We can still always do fun stuff together, J. Any time you want, me and your uncle are always here."

"I know." He hangs his head looking disappointed. "I just wish you guys were married like mommy and daddy."

She looks over to Lucas for backup but he only looks at her with the same expression that Jamie is.

"Help." She mouths to him.

"J. Luke, you know what, dude?"

"What?"

"Me and Aunt Brooke we care about each other very much, and we love each other an awful lot. And we love you even more. So all of us get to be a team. And teams stick together. So, any time you want to be with your team, you just say the word. And we'll be there. Deal?"

"Deal." A smile starts to replace his previous disappointment.

"Alright, you got to pound on it." She watches as Lucas holds his fist out. "All of us. So, that it's official."

Her heart spills over with sentimentality as she watches Lucas interact with Jamie. He was such a natural with kids, and it proved to be yet another reminder of what could have been.

 _I need to talk to you._

 _Okay._

 _I spent the entire night trying to avoid this or ignore it. But, I can't. So, I've just got to say it._

 _Brooke, what's up?_

 _I think I'm pregnant._

She quickly dismisses the memory as she extends her hand as well and the three of them seal the deal. The memory continues to linger. After all, there weren't many days where she hadn't thought of it. Jamie seemed to bring that memory to the forefront of her mind. It was almost eerie how much he looked like Lucas. He kneels down and scoops Jamie up to hold him as they exit the stadium. Unbeknownst to Jamie, he slides his fingers through Brooke's. He turns his gaze towards hers as he winks, and she finds it remarkable that he's able to ease her in the way that he does.

And as they walk out of the stadium, she finds herself wishing for the same thing Jamie was; the same thing she had fantasized about since she was seventeen years old.

XXXX

She knocks on the door waiting for Nathan and Haley to answer as Lucas holds a sleeping Jamie. The door opens and they're met by Haley's large smile.

"Hey guys! How was he?"

"He was so freaking cute. I took a bunch of pictures for you."

"I'm going to walk him up to his room, Hales. He's dead to the world." He laughs as Haley leans over kissing his forehead softly.

"Thanks, Luke."

Lucas walks past them and up the stairs, and she follows the two of them with her eyes. As they retreat past eye shot, she looks back to Haley who is watching her with a entertained smile.

"What?"

"Oh, don't what me, Tigger. You know exactly what I'm smiling about."

"Maybe. Maybe not." She tries to play coy, but Haley isn't buying it.

"He told Nathan how excited he was for today."

"Of course, he did. He loves spending time with Jamie."

Haley rolls her eyes and shakes her head at her naïve attitude.

"He said and I quote 'it gives me a full day of Brooke.' Still think it was all about Jamie?"

"Peyton's away with Mia. There's been no distractions. It's easy to say things have been good now. But when things get tough…"

"Then you take it on together. No one said it would happen overnight. It's a process, Brooke. But, if this is something that the two of you both want, then you'll get there."

"Hey Brooke!" Nathan makes his way into the hallway and hugs her.

"Hey Nate! How was the appointment?" She asks happy to welcome a new conversation.

"Ya know, a whole lot of the same. He's got a great track record though, so I'm hoping he can come up with a better plan than the rest of the idiots I've seen. But, more importantly, how was brucas' day out?"

Nathan wiggles his eyebrows, and she can't help but to laugh.

"Okay, you've both officially lost your minds."

"Lost their minds about what?" Lucas' voice emerges as he makes his way down the steps.

"Nothing." She chimes in quickly.

"I'm not so sure we're the crazy ones, Davis. In fact…"

She taps his cheek playfully earning a smirk from Nathan.

"I think it's past tutor couple's bed time."

"Alright." Lucas laughs as he grabs Brooke's BMW keys out of his back pocket. "You want to head out?"

"You bet she does." Haley laughs and Nathan joins in unison. She made a mental check list to send them a strongly worded text later.

"That's my cue to go." She sends them both a playful look before she exits with Lucas not far behind.

XXXX

The car comes to a stop as she stops in front of his house. He looks aimlessly out the window towards his house tapping his thighs with his hands anxiously before turning back to her.

"I had a lot of fun today. I know it was for Jamie, but uhm… it was nice, really nice getting to spend the day with you."

"So did I."

"I've been thinking, and now that we're about the two week countdown for my mom and Andy's wedding maybe… Maybe we could go together."

"Together?"

"Yeah, you know, together like … dates."

Her mouth went dry and her heart pounded. He wanted to take her as a date to his mother's wedding. The same wedding where all of their friends would be present. The same wedding where Peyton would be present…

"A date, huh?"

"Yeah." He's smiling now as his nerves seemed to have dissipated.

Her mind is reeling trying to find an answer to give him. The simple answer would be yes. Of course, she would love to go with him. She would love to attend Karen's wedding on his arm and dance with him all night. She would love to look at him as he stood beside Andy on the altar without a care in the world. But, there inlays the problem. There were cares to be had. It wasn't as simple as saying yes.

"How about we take it one day at a time?" She can see the pain staked expression begin to emerge on his face and she quickly places her hand over his forearm. "I'm not saying no, Luke. I'm not. Hang in there with me, okay? I'm getting there."

He nods and she can see relief spread through him and a soft smile appears.

"I'd wait forever, Brooke." He leans over and places a chaste kiss on her lips before unlocking the passenger side door and getting out. But not before, he hangs his head back in.

"Text me when you get home, okay? Let me know you made it there safe."

"Okay. Good night, Luke."

"Goodnight, Brooke."

He shuts the door and as she begins to drive away he stands there keeping one hand raised waving. And as she drives down his street, her eyes remain on her rearview mirror watching him the entire time.

XXXX

She rubs her thumb and index finger over her eyes letting them linger there as she tried to find some motivation to keep pushing forward with designs. They seemed to be trickling down her priority list lately. She had way too much on her mind to tap into the creative energy that was necessary for a project like this. She just wanted a break.

Rounding the corner of her store office, she was jolted by a voice.

"I thought these might be better than the neighbor's flowers. Love, Lucas."

She stood speechless as her mother clad in a cream Dolce Gabbana pant suit with her legs crossed comfortably as she read the small note that once lay next to the vase of Gerber daises on her desk.

"That's _so_ very thoughtful." The seething sarcasm dripped from her mother's voice. "And so reassuring to know that one of the company's most lucrative deals is riding on your clouded, love-struck mind. How delusional can you be, Brooke? Lucas Scott? I thought that you might know better than that."

"You have _no_ right to come in here and speak to me as if I'm not capable of handling this company or my personal life."

"Is your personal life handled?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Flowers from the Scott boy?" Her words drip with disdain. "I was hoping that maybe you'd learn this from your father's own extracurricular activities, but once a cheater always a cheater. When you decide to wake up and realize this, then maybe we can move on and focus on the things that matter."

Her mother's words contort her heart, and cause her jaw to quiver. She doesn't know how after all this time the feelings were still so raw in regards to what happened back then; nonetheless, they were.

"You don't know him."

"I know that he fooled around with that friend of yours. And I know the whole reason we're even standing here talking about the success of this company is very much in spite of him."

 _Lucas Scott was the one boy I might have lost it for_

There was that memory once again ringing in her mind…

"Is the company the only thing that matters to you?" She tosses her sketch book onto her desk narrowly missing her mother. "There they are, mom! You can have them. I know they mean more to you then I ever will."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? You're standing here practically flaunting that he's cheated on me, and you couldn't even muster the decency to ask how I was in all of this. Would it kill you to just once, _once_ , be my mom and not my damn… business associate?! Just this one time, I could really use my mom. Really though, I totally understand because this deal is so much more important."

"I walk in to find flowers. The same flowers I found on my desk each and every time your father thought it was a satisfactory enough consolation for all his past … indiscretions. So, when I see these flowers…" She gestures to the vase. "It strikes a chord with me; a chord that I hoped would never extend to my own daughter. Maybe, you don't feel like I've been the best mother to you, but I am looking out for you in the best way that I know how. Because no matter what you think, I don't want that for you."

"It was a long time ago. We're different people now."

"That's what I thought, too." Her mother places her bag across her shoulder as she walks towards her and brushes by softly before turning back around. "You're _strong_. Don't be weak for someone."

As her mother leaves, her eyes are once again drawn to the flowers. Now, they only seem to taunt her.

XXXX

His cell phone vibrates in his pocket and he sets down his now empty beer bottle to retrieve it. Muting the notifications on his phone, he looks back up to find a familiar face leaning next to him at the bar gesturing at the bar tender.

"Can I get two shots of fireball?"

"Julian, what are you doing here?"

"I'm buying you a celebratory shot."

"I hate to burst your bubble here, but I'm not so sure that there's a celebration to be had."

"Not so sure, huh?" He tosses money on the bar with a wide grin on his face as he takes the two shot glasses in his hand. "It sounds to me like there's part of you that wants to explore this, Lucas."

"Would I love to see my book become a movie? Absolutely. Who wouldn't? I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but I'm not exactly proud of certain aspects of the book."

"That's why I'm here. This book it's your baby. I'm not asking you to treat it as if it weren't. Make it your vision. I want you to screen write."

He shakes his head finding himself laughing at Julian's persistence.

"I really appreciate your interest. I do. There are just more important things to me than making this movie." He takes the shot out of Julian's hand gesturing it in the direction of the brunette making her way towards them. "That girl right there, Brooke Davis… she's the most important of those things."

"Hi." She smiles up at him seemingly intrigued by his interaction as she kinks her eyebrow at him. "Who's your friend?"

"Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday, and I'm not sure she even knows it."

He can suddenly feel his blood run hotter as he listens to Julian recite his own words to Brooke. What were his intentions by saying that?

"Well, you know who I am." She laughs staring towards him out of the corner of her eye. "And you are?"

"Julian Baker. I'm sorry it's just a thrill to see all of the characters coming to life."

"And you're a fan of the book?"

"One of the biggest actually. I'm a producer. We're adapting it into a movie with Lucas' help."

"Actually, we're not…"

He immediately feels panicked at this as he observes the sudden change in her demeanor.

"Oh." She seems to say as if his comment goes unheard to her. "Well, that's great. It's a love story that should be told. It was really nice meeting you, Julian." She says abruptly before walking away and through the crowd before he can even react to stop her.

"What the fuck was that?" He lashes at Julian. "Why did you just act like the movie was already in agreement?"

"Luke, listen…" He smiles not realizing the gravity of his words.

"Don't 'Luke' me. Okay? You came here, and I appreciated your interest. I also respectfully declined, so I'm asking you not to intrude on my personal relationships with this movie. I thought I gave you my answer before. Just in case, let me make it clear right now. I have no interest in making this a movie. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go focus on the more important things."

He doesn't give Julian a chance to respond as he takes the shot and slams it against the counter before taking off through the crowd.

XXXX

She swirls her cup around staring aimlessly at the ice contents of her vodka club. Closing her eyes, she keeps telling herself that maybe she had been too hard on Luke earlier. But, a deep lingering part of her can't get over that this book was always going to be there. Its permanence haunted her. And tonight was no exception.

Glancing down at her phone, she sees yet another miss call from Lucas grace her screen. Taking a sip of her drink, she swallows past the lump in her throat.

"Hey." She turns to see the very source of book fiasco take a seat next to her on a barstool. "I thought you left. Lucas mentioned that he had to leave. I thought it was to find you."

"You're pretty presumptuous for someone who doesn't know Lucas. Or me, for that matter."

"Presumptuous or intuitive. I'll let you be the judge."

"I don't meant to sound rude, but I'm just not really up for small talk. I'm sorry. Just not having the greatest night."

"Yeah. You and me both. I thought maybe we could join forces and have one big pity party over here. But, I'll leave you to it."

He taps the bar with his right hand and tightens his lips as he stands up.

"Hey, I just… I have a question for you." He asks as he stands up in his place.

"Somehow I thought you would." She didn't mean any malice in her words. In fact, she kind of found Julian intriguing. In another life, she may have even tried to flirt back with him. But, that just didn't seem like the life she wanted… not anymore.

"Are you and Lucas dating?"

She peels her eyes off of Julian as she retreats them back to the bar. She thought for a moment about maybe even being honest with this stranger. If for only a moment, she thought about telling him. But, then she decided against it.

"No."

"So, there's no relationship? Casual or otherwise?"

"No. We're not together."

"There was something about your character that always stood out to me." He shrugs as if he's not sure if his words are wavering between unchartered territories. "Seemed to me like maybe there was more story to be told. Guess I was wrong. Maybe it was just a Lucas and Peyton love story after all."

Her breathe forcibly exhales from her body in what felt like one swift punch to the gut. She knows he didn't realize or intend for his words to implicate such meaning. But, his words had detonated like bombs within her. She takes a sip of her drink, and does her best to force a smile.

"Maybe not. Who knows really? Listen, I know this might be a little out of line, but I guess I've been out of line since I got into town." He's doing his best to lighten the situation, and she appreciates that. She's just not sure that there's anything that can be said to ease the stress of her heart and mind right now. "I'm going to be in town for a couple more days, and I don't know I was just thinking that maybe the next time you get a drink maybe I wouldn't have to accidently bump into you. Maybe we could intentionally bump into one another instead." He reaches across the bar for a napkin and the pen the bartender had left alongside her check. "Here…" He says as he scribbles a number down. "…is my number. I'd really like a chance to get to see you again, Brooke Davis. And if I don't, well… I hope you never stop being brilliant and beautiful and brave."

He smiles at her and for a moment she sees that this Julian could be one of the rare genuine people in the sea of disingenuous. And as he retreats through the bar towards the exit, she thinks that he could have been a real catch. None of those thoughts stuck though.

Instead, she was left to have other words leave a searing imprint in her mind.

 _It was a Lucas and Peyton love story after all._


	9. Certain Things

Thanks for all of your kind words in the reviews! I just want everyone to keep in mind that there was bound to be a little bit of a rock bottom if brooke and lucas were to ever get back together. I always envisioned that if they were to get back together on the show it would have to play out that way. brooke would need a whole lot of convincing and lucas a whole lot of proving. going back through all the scenes now really makes my heart hurt that they didn't end up together on the show. the pieces were all there. the writers really dropped the ball on what could have been such a phenomenal story line and end for the show.

give certain things by james arthur a listen while you're reading. and don't forget to review it gets the next update up faster :)

XXXX

9:24. She was supposed to be here at 8:00, and still nothing. The table setting and dinner that he had worked on meticulously, borderline obsessively, sat untouched in front of him.

"Hey. It's me. _Again_." He rubs his hand over his temple. "I thought we were on for dinner. What's going on? Please, call me back. Let me know that you're okay."

He hangs up his iPhone with a mix of worry and frustration hanging over him. Sliding out from the table, he throws down his cloth napkin angrily before grabbing his keys and not looking back.

XXXX

He opens the door without regard to knocking, and he has a small after thought as to why she never does seem to lock her door. He wonders if it's because deep down she wants to be found.

Opening the door, he doesn't have to look very far. She's no further than the living room couch curled up with a glass of wine watching the television.

"What the…" She's about to spew out profanity at his sudden barging in before she realizes that it is in fact him. "Luke."

"I just came to see if you were okay since you completely missed dinner without so much as a text. I can see now that you had a really good reason."

"I texted you a little bit ago."

"What? When? When I was in the car on my way over here because I thought maybe something happened to you? Might have been a little late, Brooke."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry. It was just a bad day and I lost track of time."

"What's going on? You're doing it…"

He shakes his head smiling ironically looking up to ignore her confused look. It only infuriated him. She was quick to point out his shortcomings and his mistakes, but she lived in ignorance of her own.

"Doing what?"

"Running. Hiding. Choosing to give in to the bad instead of fight for the good. You tell me which one it is this time."

"You have balls. You know that?" She slams her wine glass down and throws the blanket covering her aside.

"Brooke, tell me what happened. I know you. There's a reason why you didn't come tonight, and I know it's not because you had a bad day. I was hoping that since you answered me today that we could have talked about what happened last night at Tric."

He can feel a change in the air; a distance that almost felt palpable. And he's also very aware that if he doesn't close the gap or at least try then he may never be able to gain it back again.

"Things have great." He continues. "If you could just tell me why…"

"Because Luke! Because things _have_ been great. Things are great and all it takes is my mom making a comment or all the sudden you're making a movie about the book that glorifies Lucas and Peyton as meant to be blah blah blah and all of that feels… derailed!"

"He came here to meet me! God, Brooke! You know that. It was an offer. I'm not even accepting it!"

"It doesn't matter whether you do or don't! That's not even the point! The point is I hear a comment or I'm reminded of the book and it takes me back to the insecure, broken girl I swore I would never be again!"

"Brooke, listen to me…"

"I don't want to feel that way. Luke, I want you to make the movie. I want you to go out into this world and chase and have every dream you've ever set out for yourself. I want you to have all of yours dreams come true. I'm just working on it. I'm trying to get to the day where I don't hear those words and it doesn't hurt because right now I just feel stuck."

"When I was 12 years old, I remember watching The Great Gatsby and I just thought to myself that was the coolest thing in the world. Seeing your words come to life on a screen in front of you. I can literally remember sitting there and being so enthralled by it all. I told myself that one day I would write a book and I would get to see my words come to life. And I wrote about love and the vision I had for that love. You brought that love to life in me. I didn't need to see it on some big screen to feel validated that my words came to life. You did that. You think that movie is my dream, and maybe it was, maybe part of it still is. But you… you eclipse all of that. You're my dream. And everything else is just icing. None of it means anything without you. And I don't want any of it without you. And you'll get there Brooke. You're not always going to feel stuck. There's going to be a day when things get easier. Until then, we can face it… together."

"Do you know what it's like to remember all the time? No matter how much you want to just forget it and move past it to better things? You say you've only been in love once. I'm not even going to argue with you on that. But, in love or not, you have had three great loves, Luke. Me?" She stops herself suddenly looking bashful as her cheeks redden just slightly. "I fell in love once, and since then I couldn't even find it within myself to ever feel that with anyone else again. You had three loves, Lucas. I had _one_." She shrugs past a fresh batch of tears. "I had you. And when I didn't have you all I did was remember."

"Remember?" He says it with devastation at the very realization that she really thought that maybe he didn't do just that. Did she really think it had been a clean break for him? Did she genuinely think he closed off his heart to what they had? "You think I didn't remember? Why do you think we didn't say as much as ten words to each other after we broke up?" He pauses raising his eyebrows giving her a platform to say something… anything. "It's because when I was around you all I could see was memories. If I ate near you at lunch, I just saw the girl who would steal French fries off my plate. And did you know that Peyton's first prom dress was red? Or that I had to make some lame excuse that we wouldn't match which started a huge fight. I didn't care though because red was _your_ color. When I looked at her in that, I saw you. _All_ I did was remember, Brooke. I remember everything."

"Your words always sounded pretty, Luke. You've always had a gift that way. Actions, though, speak louder. And your words stay with me, but I can still see those actions. I can close my eyes and I still see Peyton's webcam and I can still see the school the day of the shooting…"

"When I went to Charleston with Keith, for as fleeting as that was, it gave me a chance to separate from everything. And when I did, I saw how everything in my life transpired in those couple of months. I saw that in all my exceptional ability to be a complete and total jackass I made a huge mistake. And when I came back to Tree Hill, I saw it as a rare second chance to right my wrong. I told myself at that moment that if I ever got a second chance, I'd never let you go again." He pauses trying to gauge if she had recognize those words. The look in her eyes tells him that she remembered just that.

 _Tell me that was a goodbye kiss._

 _I wanna be with you Brooke...I'm sorry. I know we're friends, it's just how I feel._

 _What about Peyton's stuff?_

 _I keep that stuff as a reminder of how badly I screwed up things with you. To remind myself if I ever got a second chance, I'd never let you go again_

 _I don't know what to say. I got to go._

"That for me… that was it. The moment you came to my door with those letters and told me you loved me you had me. And then the shooting happened, and for the life of me to this day, I replay it over and _over_." He spits out the words with a sickened tone. "I'm not sure what you think happened in that library that day, but I'll tell you. I saw one of my best friends laying there bleeding out. And my mind… well, that all went to hell. My brother was wandering in a building with a shooter. Haley, under my knowledge, was missing. And you… you were on the outside left to wonder if I was even going to come out; a sentiment that I wasn't so sure about myself. Nothing made sense to me that day. And the only thing I had any semblance of control over was trying to not let Peyton die in front of me. Because she was… dying. And all of these thoughts are swirling through my mind, and she starts talking about how I'm always saving her. And before I realize it, she's telling me she loves me and then she kissed me."

He has to remind himself to keep going on with the story, but it's the look of complete breathlessness and ruin in her eyes that derails him if only for a moment.

"She kissed me, and it was the _best_ , _worst_ thing that has ever happened to me." He stops for a second to let that very sentence resonate. "When she kissed me, all the focus that I lost that day came back. Nothing was cloudy anymore. I knew that I had to get her out of there. I had to get her out of there because I need to get to you. Because I just saw you. And that kiss it didn't show me what I didn't what I didn't want. It showed me exactly what I wanted."

"You went back, Luke." Her words morph into whimpers as she stands before him looking so helpless. "You heard that Peyton was shot, and that was all you heard. Why?"

"Why?" He reiterates feeling pretty helpless himself. "My brother was running back into that building. That's the only thing I saw. Nathan took off and before I could think about it so was I. I went back into that building for my brother."

His eyes wander for a second to see a familiar cover of a book peeking out from beneath her blanket. He wanders over to pick it up, and his head drops as he realizes that it wasn't his imagination. He opens it to the page she has book marked.

 _Suddenly, it was as if the roar of the crowd, the echo of the final buzzer, the cheers of my teammates were all sounding from a thousand miles away. And what remained in that bizarre, muffled silence was only Peyton, the girl whose art and passion and beauty had changed my life. At that moment, my triumph was not a state championship, but simple clarity. The realization that we had always been meant for each other and every instinct to the contrary had simply been a denial of the following truth. I was now, and would always be, in love with_ _Peyton Sawyer_ _._

It was highlighted and the page looked worn as if someone had scoured over its contents countless times. His fingers seemed to freeze up around the book clasping its covers tightly before closing it quickly. Nausea crept up inside of him.

"Were you just reading this?"

She shrugs as if she doesn't know how exactly to answer that question.

"Why?"

"Something inside of me always thought that if I kept reading it I would find a new interpretation. I thought maybe I would find a line that gave it a different meaning. And every time I read it I wind up finding that passage; no new meaning. It comes back to that every single time; the Lucas and Peyton love story."

"Brooke…"

"Lucas, I'm trying. I know it might not seem like it, but I'm trying. And I try and these things they just… haunt me. This book…"

"You want to talk about this book?!" He looks like something inside of him has snapped. "This!" He gestures it forward violently. "This was a book I wrote when I was seventeen years old. It was a book I wrote while I was _with_ Peyton! It might have been a little difficult to write about the story of a boy with a conflicted heart. Let me write a book where I try to write voice the thoughts of a boy who loves Peyton Sawyer but is also very much in love with Brooke Davis. Cause it wouldn't fly with Peyton and it certainly didn't fly with my editors. You have this idea in your head of what this book means to me, but you have no idea."

"Enlighten me, Luke! Please. What exactly does the book that says you will always be in love with Peyton _really_ mean to you?"

"Do you even know when I started Ravens?" He asks incredulously shaking his head continuing on without giving her a chance to answer. "I started writing it the night that you broke up with me. Writing was the only outlet I had. It was the only way I knew how to cope. So, when you said you weren't going to fight for me anymore, I lost hope in us. I tried with Peyton, and when I did, I wrote. I wrote everything I hoped we could be, everything I needed us to be. Because when I wrote it, it helped me believe it. When I wrote it, it helped me forget you for two damn seconds. You think this fucking book was a testament of the love story of Lucas and Peyton?! It's a cowardly fantasy of everything I needed so desperately in order for my heart to not feel like it was ripping out of my chest! So, the next time you want to stand there and tell me what it is that I feel or felt or ever will feel please, Brooke, _please_ get it right!"

"And the Comet? What's your story there, Luke? You can call Ravens whatever you want. You can chalk it up as a mistake you made when you were young. You're not a boy anymore. You're a man now and you chose to write another book about her. What's you excuse for that?"

"You really don't get it do you?"

The fire in his voice is gone and he's minimized to sheer disappointment. Could he ever erase the doubt that clouded her mind?

"You know I love you, but you don't get that the love I have is only for you. You don't see it. I love you because when I was at my darkest times you brought me even an ounce of light. You weren't just with me when my dreams true. You were there when they came crashing down. You gave me direction when I didn't think there was direction to be found. I love you because I'm enraptured by your beauty that is far beyond how you look. It's your kind, _warm_ heart, your witty mind, and your… electric spirit. I love you because you changed the entire course of my life before I even knew it. When you popped up in the back seat of my car, you asked me how many moments in life I can point to and say that's when it all changed. _You_ were my moment when everything changed. You were the meaning behind it all. And you might not have understood the love I had for you then or now, the rest of this town might have been all too eager to see that Peyton was my soulmate, and I might have strayed off into that very belief myself. But, you came back, Brooke. You came back, and we had both gone out and lived this life without one another and here we are. Direction. Beauty. Meaning. There are many who couldn't understand, and sometimes he walked among them. But even in his darkest hours, he knew in his heart that someday it would return to him, and his world would be whole again. You still the book is about Peyton? Because if you do, then I want you to read it again. It's not about some car. It's about the girl who came into my life in a flash and who I lost just as quickly. It's about the girl who I waited my whole life to come back to me, whether I knew it or not. It's about you."

"Julian asked me out." She says blankly with almost no affect.

"What?" His neck snaps up at her response. He feels an unnerving suffocation take over him.

"He asked me out. And he was funny and charming and successful and good looking… and there was a moment that I thought to myself he might be a real catch. Time after time, guy after guy, I realized something. I don't want anyone else. But, I also don't want to have this doubt. I don't want to carry this hurt."

She's crying now and he rushes forward to take her in his arms. He's pressing his cheek against her head feeling a gut wrenching knot in his stomach. Seeing her like this hurt. Knowing he was the cause of that hurt was a pain he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

"It's okay. It's okay." He whispers as her tears have turned into sobs. Slowly directing her to a seated position off the couch, he never lets her go.

"Loving you isn't the problem." Her words sound more like whimpers than legible sound, and he nods his head. Deep down he had always known that. "Because I love you so much." The sound of her gasping sob was enough to send chills up and down his spine.

"I believe love is a kind of faith. And when two people believe, something very powerful happens."

"What if having that belief is hard?"

"Then I'll give you all of mine."

He holds her there like that rocking her as she continues to cry. From an outside glance, it might seem like he's only soothing her. But to him, it kind of feels like they're soothing each other. And when he looks down and realizes she's drifted to sleep, he doesn't let go.

He bites down on his as he realizes he's begun to cry now. He grasps his jaw in his hand trying to stabilize the quivering that has ensued. And it's because something dawns on him.

He doesn't ever want to let go of her. Not today or tomorrow or ever. He doesn't want to. But, he's not sure if she needs him to.

XXXX

She shifted her body immediately feeling the soreness of a night slept on the couch before her eyes even opened. Adjusting them to the light, she felt disoriented to the time. The sun shone warmly on her face and it felt like a smack in the face. She doesn't even remember when she fell asleep but she knows it hadn't been for long enough. And then suddenly she sits up as flashbacks of the night before flood her mind.

And sure enough as she turns to the lounge chair adjacent from her she sees him. He doesn't acknowledge that she's awoken and she can tell from the bags under his eyes that he hadn't slept much if at all. He remains still transfixed on a picture that he's gripping his hands. She knows what picture it is without needing to look at it.

"Did you sleep at all?" She finds that the words spill out of her mouth before she could even process it.

He looks up and his response seems delayed as a tired, soft smile forms.

"No. I couldn't really."

"I… Last night…"

"Do you remember this day?" He cuts her off as he gestures the picture frame in her direction.

'How could I forget?' She wanted to say. Truthfully, she thought about it almost daily. The picture had been taken on a whim as they were on their way to take Angie to the park. He casually suggested it and she had obliged. Angie had been fussy for the better part of the morning, but as they sat to take the picture she giggled and remained calm for the picture. She remembered thinking she almost understood Angie's sudden change of demeanor, and her own smile in the picture was a testament to that. She had been _truly_ happy. With Lucas' arm wrapped loosely around her shoulder and Angie securely held in between them, they had looked like their own little family. How could she ever forget that…

"Sure, I do." She settled for that answer instead as her throat tightened.

"Peyton asked me once when we were together if I could picture blonde haired babies running in the backyard of our own home one day. I remember closing my eyes and trying to envision it. When I did, I saw two boys with sandy brown hair and a little girl who was the spitting image of someone else I knew. She had deep dimples, and these hazel eyes that spilled over with warmth. I knew exactly the family I was picturing, but it wasn't the backyard with blonde babies Peyton and I shared. It was the family of the home that I built… with you. Maybe I've found three great loves like you said, but I only ever saw one future. I only ever envisioned one love that grew into a family."

She had reached a point last night where she thought her internal reservoir of tears had been cleared out and she didn't have any tears left to cry. She had been wrong. As she does her best to suppress her tears, he places the picture frame back down on the side table and takes calculated steps towards her. He leans down and takes her hands in his own, and she feels a cascade of tears escape from her eyes.

"I know you think that I didn't get it. And maybe in that moment, I didn't. But, the boy who didn't get it became a man. I know now that you weren't mad. You were crushed. I know that all the faith you put in me once again felt misplaced and you were heartbroken. I know you think that I didn't know you. And I may have been wrong for so many things, but that is where you are so wrong. I know you, Brooke Davis. I know you better than anyone in this world. I know that you think you aren't enough, and that you're some fleeting stepping stone for me. I know that love, particularly our love, scares the hell out of you. I get that the past and our history has left you hurt beyond measure. What I also know is that in all the mornings that I woke up with you lying next to me you smile… just so… and stretch into me like you know that you're home in my arms. I know that when we're watching a movie you think I don't see when you look out of the corner of your eye to make sure I don't miss a joke that you thought was funny or a romantic moment. And I know that when I ask you if you remember the day that picture was taken you think about it every single day and how it felt like the closest thing to a family as humanly possible."

She lets out a tiny whimper as she continues to cry.

"You wanted me to let you all the way in. You're in, Brooke Davis. You have my mind, heart, and soul. I'm in love with you. I know it won't always be easy, and I know we have a lot to still work through. But, when it comes down to it I know none of that is too big for us to face. We've been through it all, and in all that pain and struggle, we wound up right back here. I know all of these things, but I don't need to convince myself. I already did that. I already opened my heart all the way to you." And through her own tears she sees that he is crying now as well. "Even though I know all of these things, I didn't know how much it broke you, and how much it still breaks you. Because last night, I saw the same pain in your eyes that I saw when were teenagers and I swore I'd never put that look back in your eyes. All I've ever wanted, all I want, is for you to have every blessing in the world. I want you to be infinitely happy. I want you to _feel_ that. After last night, I'm not sure you think I'm the one who can make you feel that way. I don't want you to feel broken, Brooke." She feels the warmth of tears on her hands as tears have fallen from his face and onto their embraced hands.

"I promised myself that I would never, ever hurt you again. And last night you were _hurt._ And I don't want to be the common denominator that makes you feel that way. I want to lift you up not bring you down. I want you to have a love that makes you feel the way I do when I'm with you whether that's with me or not. I love you enough to let you go if that's what you need me to do. I need you to look into your heart and tell me what you want me to do because I can't make that decision on my own. I can't let you go until you tell me to. I _won't_ let go unless you tell me to. You wanted my heart. You have it. You're in. You just have to choose to be in. You have to choose to start fresh. And if you do, then I'm here… always."

"Lucas…" She stammers his name as talking seems to be an impossible task. He squeezes her hands softly giving her reassurance.

"It's okay. You don't need to say anything. There's no rush. When you know, you know where to find me." He raises both hands up to his mouth and he kisses them both and it seems to linger as he gathers his emotions. "I love you so much, Brooke." And he leans forward and kisses her on the forehead and before she can talk, move, or anything in between he's gone.

XXXX

She sat unmoved wrapped in a fleece blanket gazing out to nothing in particular over river view of her deck. She could feel herself tremble as she brought a sip of Chardonnay to her mouth; a very hearty sip. He had left a few hours ago, and _this_ is all she had done.

 _You're in. You just have to choose to be in._

She had one choice to make; one choice that was terrifyingly scary and inexpressibly exciting all at the same time. And those two options crippled her with indecisiveness.

She turned anxiously as she heard the sound of the sliding glass door open. She was met by two green eyes piercing into her with worry.

"Brooke, sweetie, are you crying?"

So, she was posed with another choice. She could sit there and engage in the same cycle of biting her tongue and saying exactly what she was supposed to say. Or… she could be honest. She could look her friend in the eye and tell her exactly what she's wanted to say for years.

"Peyton…" She sat her wine glass down as she stared at the girl who had been next to her since before she could remember.

 _The giggling of the two girls was infectious as they played in Peyton's backyard. They were 9 years old and not a care in the world. After all, they had each other._

 _"_ _Peyton, we'll always be best friends, right?"_

 _"_ _Always, Brookie. We'll be best friends forever."_

She swallowed past the memory and took one more deep breath for confidence.

"What is it, Brooke?"

"For the last four months, Lucas and I have been sleeping together. I never said anything to you because I swore to myself a long time ago that I would never do to you what you did to me. Because it hurt me _so_ bad, Peyt. And because I knew that once I told you it was real. Telling you makes it real." She says and she realizes that she's not just admitting these things to Peyton but to herself as well. "I was scared to admit it. I was scared to death of what that means for our friendship, which isn't even friendship. You've been my family. Since we were four years old, you've been the family to me that I never had. I'm scared to death and what loving him and losing him could do to me." She's hiccupping past a flurry of tears that are overtaking her. "I'm scared."

Peyton says nothing as she walks over to him with slumped shoulders and a pained expression. Taking a seat next to her, she stays silent for a moment as she looks out to the distance.

"You have another wine glass?"

"Just the bottle."

"That may do." She gives a half smile, and for the first time since she's arrived she smiles as well.

"You still loved him when you broke up with you, didn't you?" Peyton asks pointedly as she glances out over the water. Her voice is soft and she knows that it almost embarrasses her to ask the question.

The question takes her off guard. It wasn't what she had anticipated Peyton to ask.

 _"_ _Do you love him?"_

 _"_ _You are something else. How dare you be so selfish to ask me that about my boyfriend?"_

The memory still sears at her emotions. She loved him. Somehow, the realization that she was losing him that day made her love him even more.

"Yes." She said in a breathy whisper that she was shocked was even audible to Peyton.

"So, you loved him and you let him go? You let him go because you thought it was what would make him happy? And what would make me happy?"

She looks down almost embarrassed to once again admit it to herself; that she let go the love of her life in the hopes that he would find the happiness he always sought with her best friend.

 _"_ _I used to miss you so much when that happened, but it never seemed like you missed me. I guess because of it I stopped missing you."_

She let him go.

 _"_ _This is a dream come true? So, who do you want standing next to you? Go. It's okay. Go."_

And then she let him go again each time with the excruciatingly, heart wrenching inner turmoil of what that would do to her; what it would do to her to this day.

"You two needed to give it a try."

She watches as this all washes over Peyton.

"I never, ever wanted for any of this to happen. I never wanted to hurt…"

"You let him go, so that he could go off and be happy with someone else even though it would kill you." She's not sure if it's a statement or a question, and she's fairly sure Peyton doesn't know herself. "You did that for him, and you did that for me. But, when the time comes for that same thing to be done for you, you're apologizing." She laughs in a way that bears no humor only an underlying sadness.

"I'm not sure I know…"

"I do; know I mean. I was supposed to your best friend. The kind of best friend you were to me even when I didn't deserve it. I don't want to be selfish anymore or stubborn in my ways. I want to be your best friend. And I know that I am, and I know you see me that way, but I also know that what happened back then will always be there. And I hate that I've done that to you. I hate that you have to resort to waiting until the last moment before you tell me about what's going on with you and Lucas. I love ya, Brooke. And I love him." She pauses momentarily gathering herself. "I want you both to be happy. I want the same happiness for you that you wanted for me all those years ago. Let me, Brooke."

"We said a long time ago hoes over bros, and…"

"No, Brooke. He's not 'bros.' He's your bro." She watches as Peyton, for the first time since she's arrived, smile; a true and genuine and somewhat sentimental smile. It was… comforting and reminiscent and … so them; before Lucas and all that came because of him. "He's on the damn door under you, isn't he?"

She finds herself laughing now. This Peyton was her best friend. This was the girl who had become her family. And if anything was ever to transpire with her and Lucas then she was the final straw she needed in accepting it herself.

"I'm not sure if that's an open or closed door anymore."

"Sure, you do. If you thought it was closed, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I'm scared, Peyt. I'm scared to death of him, and how he makes me feel, and how easy it is for him to make me feel that way. If he ever hurt me again, I wouldn't survive it. Not this time."

"He loves you." Peyton remarks point blank as she shifts her entire body to face her. "I used to think that admitting that out loud would just… crush me. And I'm not even sure what changed, but something did; a combination of things really. I had my head so blown up about what me and Lucas could be that I didn't realize what we were. We both spent all this time chasing after that and never really reaching it. He used to have this look of wonder in his eyes talking about the love he thought we could have, and somehow it didn't reach his eyes once we had it."

Peyton laces her fingers together looking down at that something she assumes she's doing to distract herself from admitting that out loud. She can't remember the last time they had been this candid with one another.

"He told me he loves you. He looked me in the eye with that same wonder and awe and happiness, but it was different. He wasn't alluding to being love with what could be. He was in love with what was."

"I wish I could be so sure."

"There's a lot of things that you don't have to be sure about, but trusting that he loves you isn't one of them. I can see why you would scared and why you be hesitant, but being sure? That isn't one of those things. He loves you, and I think you know that too."

"Lucas Scott." She laughs at the very notion of ever falling in love with him. Of all the things in her life that had taken her by surprise, he had far surpassed all of them. "Did you ever think that Nathan's brother from the river court would lead us here one day to have this conversation?"

"Ha! The gangly kid from the river court? No, I didn't." Peyton's smile seems to subside as she looks solemnly at her. "Would you do things differently?"

The words were a direct calling to words she had mused upon not too long ago.

 _Is this how you thought our lives would turn out?_

 _With me being stood up at the altar and you taking care of a kid that's not yours? Not exactly._

 _Do you ever want to go back? I remember being sixteen and everything seemed… much easier. Would you do it differently?_

 _I'd try to appreciate the things I took for granted, but I think we have to go through all this stuff. You know? To get to the places we want to be._

 _Yeah._

Somehow, it was exactly what she needed to hear.

"No. I wouldn't. I'm starting to think that we had to go through all of things we did to get to the places we want to be."

As the words resonate as evidence by Peyton's features, a smile of comfort returns to her face.

"I think we're where we're supposed to be, Brooke Davis. It all feels okay, too. Doesn't it?"

"It does."

XXXX

He diagrams an offensive call in his play book as he sets his pen in the page as a book mark and closes the book. The preseason was approaching more quickly than he could have anticipated, and he knew he had so much to prepare. Leaning back against the wooden bleachers, though, the gym captivated his thoughts. And after last night, he needed this. He needed any distraction, really. Although, he was all too convinced there was no distracting himself from her.

Looking around the gymnasium that was responsible for so much in his life, he closed his eyes. He swore he could still hear the roar of the crowds that gathered in its stands. Opening his eyes, they wandered to the baseline.

And there she was. He could still see her like it was yesterday. She stood there adorning the signature R atop her cheek. Her pom-poms moved rhythmically as she cheered. Her skin looked like immaculate porcelain against the black and blue of her uniform. Her eyes were glued on him and only him. She was his cheerleader. She was there for him.

He stood up grabbing the basketball next to him taking methodical steps towards what he knew was a desperate longing for an apparition of the girl he once had. Spinning the leather of the basketball through his hands, he could hear a distinctive voice in his head.

 _Relax, Luke. Destiny has a way of finding you._

He had been just seventeen years old when Coach Durham had said those words to him standing in this very spot. He had, at the time, correlated the words with basketball. Seven years later the words still resounded within him, and he realized that it hadn't had much to do with the game. Not much at all.

He narrowed his eyes staring at the reminiscent phantom of his past, and he knew that it was no coincidence that Whitey had spoken those words to him on the same night he met Brooke Davis.

 _Did you feel it change? I mean how many moments in life can you point to say and say 'that's when it all changed'?_

His eyes remained in a trance of her as he gripped the basketball tightly. He blinked slowly as the lines of the past and present were beginning to morph together and the visions of the phantom Brooke was slowly fading. As he turned around, he gripped the basketball tightly and realized something: she hadn't just changed the world… she had forever changed his.


	10. Need The Sun To Break

Okay so this is shorter than I would have liked but I decided to split it into halves. I'm still ironing out tiny kinks for the next update and wanted to gauge maybe what everyone's feedback as I finish. I'm looking at 2 more chapters which are nearly complete now. So, in your reviews don't hesitate to say what you'd like to see in the conclusion of the story. I'm sticking pretty close to the original vision I had for the ending here but there is one section I'm revising now.

So, here's an update to know that I'm alive haha.

I can't believe this is coming to an end. I've really enjoyed writing this story. I've always been in love with writing and this has been such a cool outlet. It's also been crazy to see how after all the time since the show has ended brooke and lucas still have an impact. Their story was really real and genuine and it's a shame that in the end the story didn't do them justice. I still believe to this day that had chad and Sophia not divorced or bryan Greenberg hadn't opted to move on from the show that we would have seen a very different ending. But for now, that's what our imaginations are for :)

Everyone give 'Need the Sun to Break' by James Bay a listen while reading and please review! Gives me the motivation to get an update up!

XXXX

He stuck the spare key he knew she kept hidden underneath a rock outside into the slat of the door. He knew she was at the store today and he just wanted to drop off a letter to her. The letters she had written to him during her summer spent in California had served as a foundation of their relationship. They had given them an honest platform to find each other again that to this day he had been eternally grateful for. He was hoping that maybe this letter could do the same.

A feminine figure is turned facing the opposite direction of him leaning against the kitchen counter. Shit, he didn't think anyone would be here. As she turns around, he is surprised to see who the unexpected guest is.

"Lucas Scott."

"Mrs. Davis." He says through a hoarse throat that had emerged after the past few nights that he had spent restless. "I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would be home."

In all the years of his friendship and romantic relationship with Brooke, he hadn't come across Victoria very often. When they were together junior year, he could count on one hand the times she had even acknowledged him. In the time since then, his meetings with her had become few and far between.

"Are you looking for Brooke? Or Peyton? You never could decide. Isn't that right?"

He swallows harshly as he looks away from her ashamed.

"I guess I deserve that."

"But you think you deserve Brooke?"

"No." He stops speaking exhaling deeply before taking his hand and scratching the back of his neck. "In fact, I know I don't deserve her. She's infinitely out of my league. But somehow, and by some miracle, I believe that while I don't deserve her on my own maybe we deserve each other. We've dreamt together, and we've lived through hell together. We've laughed and we've cried. And we loved each other. So, I'm thinking that after all of that we deserve our shot."

Victoria seems to mull this over as she shifts her position. Her features seem to soften.

"Do you think that coming in here with a few lines worthy of another book is enough to get the approval of her mother?"

"Maybe not with some words. But, I do think I can earn your trust. If you're anything like Brooke, then it won't be easy. I may not earn your approval overnight. But, as long as I believe there's a chance in her heart for us, then I'll keep fighting. You'll see how much I love your daughter. Maybe one day we'll have this conversation again and you'll believe it."

She remains quiet and for a moment they just stand there in the silence of the room with one another.

"I didn't mean to bother you. I just wanted to leave this for, Brooke." He gestures the letter forward that he leaves sitting atop the coffee table in a spot he knows she'll see. "It was good seeing you, Mrs. Davis. Hopefully, I will again soon."

He turns to leave and as he grasps the handle of the front door he's stopped in his place.

"Why now? You had her once; twice actually if memory serves me right. Both times you let her go. What makes this time any different?"

"I'm sure this all seems odd to you. We've only met a few times, and here I am coming in and sharing all of these personal thoughts to you, but… That's just it. Brooke is a _very_ personal thing to me. I made a mistake a long time ago that I wish I could take back every single day. And then one day I saw this light and through it I saw a second chance that I never thought I'd have. I never knew how much I wanted it and needed it until it was right there in front of my face. I'm not wasting this chance this time. It showed me that it's never too late to fight for the people who matter. And I'll spend every day for the rest of my life showing her that I love her if that's what it takes. I love her for her beautiful spirit and her kind heart, her unwavering strength, her infectious personality. When I first met her, I thought that maybe she needed me. And seven years later, I realize that I could not have been more off base. All this time, I was the one who needed her. She woke me up in this life. I don't want to go to sleep again. I'm in love with your daughter."

He sees a flash of emotion on Victoria's face. A far cry from the stoic demeanor he had always known her to have.

"You know something? I had the best looking, most successful men in New York approach me for a chance to ask Brooke out. These men had fame, money, appeal. Any girl would have bent over backwards for a chance to go out with one of them. Not Brooke. Every time, she seemed less interested than the last. She never gave an answer as to why. My high school daughter who was boy crazed was suddenly interested in no boys. And I knew why. Since she met you, she was only interested in one boy." She tightens her lips folding her hands against her waist casually. It appears that the wheels of her mind are turning debating with what might come from her mouth next. "So, if you love my daughter, _be_ the one boy for her. Keep fighting for her."

He nods his head partly in appreciation for what she's just said and also in shock that she had been the one to give him such words.

"I will. You too, you know? I know you think the world of her or you wouldn't be having this conversation with me. I know that now. And you do too. But, she doesn't. Show her. If you haven't been there for Brooke in the way you'd like, then be there. Don't miss out on a relationship with her because she's so worth it. She is exceptionally worth it."

Most of his knowledge of Victoria Davis had been through the stories Brooke had confided in him. He knew the volatile and distant relationship between the two, and how much Brooke whether she said or not craved a real relationship with her mom. More than anything, he wanted that for her. In all the time he had known of the relationship between Brooke and her mother, he could never quite understand her. Standing just mere feet from each other, he felt like if only for a moment he knew her; not the woman who was distant, but the mother who wanted to be more; the mother who wanted so much more for her daughter than she had; the mother who craved the very same relationship Brooke did.

Maybe he was completely off base. But lately, he was choosing to believe in the good.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Davis."

She gave him a half smile, and to him that a triumph in and of itself. Returning the smile, he leaves.

XXX

She breezed through her front door with her hands full of designs and iced coffee, an essential. Her day was long and her thoughts were raging.

"Hi."

"Jesus, mom." She sat her designs down gasping from the shock of not coming home to an empty house. "You scared me. If you're here for the designs…"

"I'm going back to New York. The designs are excellent. The new line should stabilize the company. There's nothing left for me to do here." 'Here we go,' she thought. And with everything on her mind, the last thing she wanted was a lecture. "There are a few things that I need to leave you with. We need to call our publicist and arrange a series of interviews announcing your launch of the line. You need to speak with the people of Red and organize some sort of charitable contribution." She sighs listening to the never ending to do list her mother is dictating. For once, she just wanted her to be less like her business associate and more like her mother. Guess that was too much to ask for. "And you need to drive to that boy's house and tell him you love him."

Her thoughts came to a halting stop. Did she just hear her correctly?

"What?"

"When I was young, there was a boy who loved me and I loved him back. But, he wasn't from my circle of friends and he was different than my parents expected. So, I let him go. And not a day has gone by that I don't regret it."

"Why haven't you ever told me this?" She remembered being a young girl desperately seeking her mother's attention. She wanted to actually _know_ her mother. Her entire life had been spent never having a true, revelatory conversation. _This_ was the first time her mother had truly open up to her. Involuntarily, she found herself beginning to cry.

"Because I've been a terrible mother. I have a daughter who is strong and bright, kindhearted, so beautiful. And I've nearly broken her with my inability to open my heart. But, I haven't broken her. She's just as strong and beautiful and kindhearted as ever. She simply misnamed her company. Because if this boy Lucas loves you and you love him that's all that matters. _That_ is the most important thing and the clothes can wait. This is for you."

"What is it?"

Her eyes analyze the piece of paper her mother presents her with.

"It's the company. It's all yours… 100%."

Clothes Over Bros, her creative baby that she had poured her heart and soul into, turned out to only be a front. She _loved_ what she did. There wasn't a single day she took the opportunity it gave her for granted. With that being said, she also knew the camouflage it had become in her life. She used it as a muse to bury herself from what truly occupied her heart and soul.

For her mother, though, this company had been her pride and joy.

"But why?"

"I'd rather have my daughter than a company."

"But you _loved_ this company." She still couldn't wrap her mind around what her mother was telling her.

"Yeah. I did, and I was wrong. I should have loved you more, and the company less. I just didn't know how."

"Mom?" The composure of her voice is wavering and she's having a hard time collecting herself. "I want you to stay on, and run things from New York."

"You're keeping me?"

"You're good at what you do, and besides you're my mother."

As soon as the words leave her mouth, she feels the embrace of her mother envelop her. She melts into her arms and then her mother says the words that she has been craving to hear for as long as she can remember.

"My daughter. I love you so much, and I'm so proud of you."

"So, you're going back?"

"I am, but I've already booked a few flights home this month. I'd really like to spend some time with you... real time. Someone stopped by today and told me it's never too late to fight for the people who matter."

"Someone stopped by?"

"He left this for you." A slither of a smile reflects back at her as her hands pick up an envelope. A letter… She takes it in her hands and runs her fingers over the familiar handwriting. "He was right. It's not too late."

Her mother hugs her once again as she picks up her hand bag and begins to slowly walk toward the door.

"Mom…" She's at a loss. How does she find words for anything that's just happened? "Thank you. _Thank you._ I love you."

"I love you, too. I'm sorry if you ever questioned that."

She disappeared then behind the door. And she was left to her own devices in the quietness of the room with only one thing accompanying her.

She plopped onto her couch suddenly feeling the mounting emotional exhaustion hit her. Tracing her fingers over the edges of the letter, she gives in to the urge to open it. And she begins to read.

 _Brooke,_

 _I've spent the better part of the past few days replaying our last night spent together. I've tossed and turned. I've been awake until sunrise. In the darkness of each night and all of the what ifs and could have would have should haves, I saw the morning light; that light lit up my heart._

 _I told you that I can't let you go until you tell me to; that I_ _ **won't**_ _let you go until you tell me to. But the thing is, if I tell you that, then I'm letting you off the hook. If I do just that, then I'm giving you permission to keep moving from us; mostly running from us; never ready for us. So, I don't want to let you off the hook. I don't want to give you notion that it's okay to keep running._

 _I used to be spiteful of past mistakes. But now? I welcome their place in the past. Without them, we wouldn't be at this exact place in time. So, I'm not letting you off the hook, Brooke Davis. But, I will challenge you. I'll challenge you to give us the chance that we've always deserved, but never had. I challenge you to open your heart to me._

 _I'm accepting that very same challenge with an eager mind, a joyful heart, and reawakened soul. You've done all of those things for me. I used to wake up dreaming. Now, I'm out chasing the dream that I know is there._

 _I loved you yesterday. I love you now. And I will love you for the rest of my tomorrows. It took 82 letters to bring us back together. I'm hoping one more might be able to do the same._

 _Lucas_

She sunk into the couch as she scoured over the letter again and again.

 _It's never too late to fight for the people who matter._

She smiled alone to herself at these words; a true and genuine smile.

XXX

Some of the incorporations from Lucas' letter were borrowed Pacey's speech to Joey from the Dawson's Creek finale. If you haven't seen it, give it a watch, one of my favorite television scenes ever. It could not have been more perfect for brooke and lucas and I wanted to incorporate it into the letter somehow.

Disclaimer: I do not own the dialogue of Dawson's Creek, that right is reserved to the WB and Dawson's Creek Writers.

The dialogue from the brooke and Victoria scene is largely from the brooke/Victoria scene of 6x24. I loved that scene, one of the few scenes I liked of season 6, and felt like it flowed in the context of this story. It is mildly changed to applied to the current storyline.

Disclaimed: I do not own the dialogue of One Tree Hill, that right is reserved to the CW/WB and Mark Schwann and the One Tree Hill writers.


	11. 23

Okay, guys. I'm really excited to see your reaction on this chapter and also sad that this story is coming to an end. There will be one more chapter after this. I want to thank everyone again for sticking with me and for saying such kind words about it. To me, in a perfect world, this is how One Tree Hill would have gone. I think Brooke and Lucas were a genuine love story that unfortunately got tainted by real life circumstance. Nonetheless, I still have a very special place in my heart for them and I understand why real life took precedence over their television fate. Season 2 and 3 was such beautiful buildup and a realistic and true love story. I have no doubt in my mind that had things gone differently brooke and lucas would have ended together. And since they didn't, to me, this is my vision for how it might have gone.

Give 23 by Jimmy Eat World a listen while reading, and please review. Let me know everything you liked and what you might like to see in the conclusion to the story.

Thanks again everyone :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Characters, plot points, and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwan and One Tree Hill writers.

XXXX

He wasn't exactly the nervous type; never had been. As he stood only arms length away from the marble gravestone, he felt a certain level of uneasiness. Week after week during his visits with Keith, he told himself he would stop here. And week after week, his courage had failed him. The name 'Daniel Scott' reflected back at him.

 _I loved your mother so much. I got stuck. Instead of just admitting how wrong I was and that I never should have left, I kept running. If you love someone Lucas, then please don't make the same mistakes that I did._

His father was a lot of things; a man of nobility and sincerity had rarely been used to describe him, however. In some of his final moments on this earth, he had showed those very things. In the most unlikely of sources, Dan had been his impetus to swallow his pride and the past and fight for a future with Brooke. In all of the hostility he had grown in his heart towards the man who biologically was his father, he had learned to forgive him in his moment of surrender. That forgiveness had led him here.

Resting his hand atop the corner of the gravestone, he strokes it with his thumb.

"Hey Dan." His throat is completely dry and he coughs. "It was hard getting here. I'm still having a hard time. It was hard forgiving you. The pain is still there, you know? But, I know in my heart that I have. Just trying to get my mind to catch up."

He hears the faint sound of birds chirping in the early morning and feels the sun beating on his face. Looking up, he closes his eyes feeling the warmth of the sun.

"I took your advice. I found the girl who makes me happy, and I'm not going to let her go. I remember the night I told her I had HCM…"

 _He stood near the free throw line grasping the leather of the ball between his hands. He inhaled sharply closing his eyes past the stinging of tears that had formed. His jaw quivered trying to reconcile within himself that he made the right decision to leave the team._

 _This game for so long had been his love; his outlet, his oxygen. And now? What was it supposed to be? Was his lifeline now only something that he could delve into on a monitored basis?_

 _None of it seemed fair._

 _Gripping the ball, he heaved it forcefully as it went sailing against the old backboard of the river court. The silence of the night had been interrupted by a resounding roar at the impact._

 _"_ _Luke?" Her small voice resonates in the painful silence that followed. He spins around to see her standing there with tear stained cheeks and fearful eyes. She's still clad in her Ravens cheer uniform._

 _"_ _Brooke…"_

 _"_ _Nathan… he, he told me." Her voice cracks and he can feel his heart constrict as he watches her there in apparent agony. He hates that he's the reason for that. "Lucas, is it true?"_

 _He feels ashamed of himself for keeping this from this from her. And in this very moment he can't quite decipher if the thought of losing basketball or disappointing Brooke hurts him more. Staring at her now, he's siding with the latter._

 _Tears are streaming down his face and he shakes his head hesitant to acknowledge the existence of his HCM. He thought admitting it to his mom would be hard. Somehow, admitting it to her seemed so much harder._

 _"_ _Yes."_

 _A guttural noise escapes from her as her hand clasps over her mouth._

 _He had expected her to ask why he hadn't told her. He had expected her to even yell at him for how selfish he had been. He had expected all kinds of responses. What he hadn't expected was her actual response._

 _She takes a few steps forward and takes a seat at center court patting the spot next to her._

 _"_ _Come here."_

 _He obliges taking a few steps to take a seat next to her. As he does, he can see the hurt in her eyes and it cuts his heart right in two. She puts her arm around his back._

 _"_ _I need you to promise me something."_

 _He can only look up in acknowledgement of fear that he may cry more than he already is._

 _"_ _I know how much you love this game. I know how much it means to you. I can't even begin to imagine what it feels like for you right now. But, however much you love this game, I can guarantee you that we all love you more. Your friends love you more. Your brother loves you more. Your mom… loves you more. I love you so much more, Luke." Her voices gives out as she looks up momentarily to gather herself all the while he feels himself losing it more and more. She brings her hand to his chin lifting his face to look at her. "Basketball is never going to leave you. It will always be a part of you. But, you… we could lose you. So you need to promise me that that won't happen. You need to promise me that you will put you over basketball. And if you do I promise you we will all be here to make sure the game never leaves you. I promise you if you ever feel the emptiness of it, I will be right here, Luke. I love you. I don't ever want to lose you. Okay? Please. I need you here."_

 _"_ _I love you so much. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He repeats it over and over as he collapses into her waist. She wraps her arms around him whispering that it will all be okay in his ear. He can feel her tears fall from her eyes and onto him, and even in his pain he begins to realize something._

"…I realized as much as I ever loved basketball, I had something so much more important. She was my outlet. She was my oxygen…. my love. She always has been. You helped push me to keep chasing her. Thank you."

He holds on to the top of the gravestone tightly for one more moment before looking up to the sun once more. Smiling, he felt like the warmth he was feeling wasn't just from the sun.

XXXX

"Brooke Davis with the always fashionable late entrance." Haley laughs bringing her coffee cups to her lips.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Me and clocks have never gotten along very well." She smiles taking a seat across from her friend at a local restaurant along the river walk.

"Ah, despite your clock illiteracy I think I'll keep ya around."

"Oh, thanks!" She mocks appreciation causing Haley to laugh. "If you must know, I was doing some final touches on Karen's dress."

"I cannot believe that wedding is going to be here already. Time's flying."

"Everything's flying."

Haley giggles into her coffee cup, and she kinks her eyebrow at this.

"What?"

"Oh, please. You know my next question."

She rolled her eyes playfully. When she had first met Haley, she couldn't believe that this girl had made their way into their circle. She _never_ would have predicted that the tutor girl with the ugly poncho would have grown to be her best friend; the kind of friend whom she would one day sit across a table from and be able to read her mind. Lo and behold, that is exactly what happened.

"Potentially. Turns out after all this time I can read your mind Haley James Scott."

"The very first time Lucas told me he was going out on a date with you, I laughed. I couldn't believe that Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis had _anything_ in common. I just couldn't see it. And now, well now it all makes sense to me. You brought out new things in Lucas. And he brought out new things in you. You were the best versions of yourself when you were together. I just can't wait until you realize that it's okay to have that again."

"When he was over the other night, I knew exactly what I had to do. And then he gave me this." She reaches over grabbing the letter out of her handbag sliding it across the table towards Haley. She watched as Haley opened it skimming its contents with wide eyes. "And I _really_ knew what I had to do. I need to make a choice to trust him. The truth is I believe what he's saying. I never thought that I would again, but I _do._ But, I need to find that trust within myself. I want to give myself to him fully, ya know? When I do, I want to know that my heart is completely in it; that my trust is his. And I think I'm there. I'm just ironing out the kinks."

She shrugs feeling the weight of that confession lift from her shoulders. It was the first time she had admitted that out loud. And with its revelation she felt like that was the final step in the right direction.

"You know that one thing I'm most certain of?"

"What's that?"

"However long it takes for you to iron out those kinks, he'll wait. He'd wait forever if he had to."

XXXX

"Right there." He pauses the television pointing at the screen. "Our transition defense just totally falls apart. That's killing us."

Nathan nods from the chair across from him as they sit in his brother's living room draped by play books. They had been reviewing Ravens film all morning.

"Defense wins championships. When we can make them see that, maybe they'll start doing it."

"Right." He tosses his pen and play book on his coffee table switching the television from film to ESPN.

"You look exhausted dude."

"I am." He smiles at Nathan. The past week has felt like a lifetime to him. "Sleep has been secondary to thoughts lately."

"Have you talked to her yet?"

"Nope."

"When Haley came back from tour, all I wanted to do was resist her. I was so hurt. But, she kept coming around. Pretty soon, it became harder and harder to deny what was in my heart. I loved her. I understand how Brooke feels; being scared to take the leap again. It's scary as hell, Luke. But, if you don't give up, then it will show her that it's far scarier living without the person you love."

"A couple months ago, well even a few weeks ago, I would lay awake at night and think of everything that had gone wrong. What if I actually said what was on my mind instead of falling silent the night she broke up with me? What if I didn't cower and give up when I thought she wasn't fighting for me? But now, I just think of all the nights that we stayed up all night talking and laughing. I just miss her. I want her to trust in us as much as I do, and I understand why it's taking her longer to get there. I do. It's just that every day without her doesn't feel right. Nothing feels right without her anymore."

He falls back into the cushions of the couch putting his feet up on the coffee table. He felt like his words perpetually going around in circles. Every day he told himself those same things. And every day they felt truer and truer to him.

"All of the days that feel shitty without her are for a purpose. One day she's going to be ready. And when she is it's going to feel so sweet."

"What makes you sure she'll be ready?"

"Because I knew Brooke before you ever did. I knew her before you and I knew her after you. She gave away her heart once and never got it back. She's ready, Luke. She's always been ready to. Her mind has to catch up to her heart."

"Yeah." He nods leaning forward collecting the stray playbooks scattered across the coffee table. "It's weird, but lately I just keep seeing this same image of her. It was the morning after Peyton was drugged at that party at Duke. It was the very first night I had a conversation with Brooke; a real conversation anyway. And we were up all night talking. I mean I'm talking not a wink of sleep. I dropped her off at her car at like seven am the next day. As she was getting out of my truck, she looked back for just a few seconds and the sun framed her face in such a way that it looked like she was glowing. It was kind of prophetic in some way. I had no idea then, but she turned out to be this light in my life." She pauses closing his mouth realizing just how cliché it may sound. "She lit up my world. And I _can't_ wait until she realizes that that is exactly what she is to me."

"My brother the love struck cheeseball." Nathan laughs and he picks up a pillow throwing it at him laughing as well.

"This cheeseball has to go pick up Lily from school. I'll catch you later, Nate." He rises clutching all of his coaching sets.

"Luke." He turns around at his name. "I'm proud of you. I've watched you struggle with what's been in your heart for a long time. It would have been really easy for you to make some other choices, but you didn't. It takes a lot of courage to make the hard choice."

"I'm starting to see how it was never a hard choice at all. She was always the easy one. I was hard. Not her. See ya later, Nate."

XXXX

 _She lit up my world._

They stood motionless and silent in the mud room of Haley's home as they arrived back from lunch. She and her best friend had walked in unbeknownst to either of them that Lucas and Nathan would be there; yet alone having a length conversation about her.

She watches as Haley's eyes boomerang off of her and back to the trajectory of Lucas' voice interchangeably. Her heart is pounding against her chest and she tries to silence her breathing. She doesn't want to make her presence known.

 _I'm starting to see how it was never a hard choice at all._

Letting the weight of her body lean against the wall she smiles tenderly. The Lucas Scott she had once loved so fiercely had come roaring back into her life. And this time, he replaced her doubt with certainty.

She hears the front door close tearing her from her thoughts to be met by the jaw dropping stare of Haley.

"Still ironing out the kinks?"

"Hales is that you?" Nathans voice emerges as he enters the mud room realizing that she is there as well.

"Oh man." He laughs completely amused by this. " _This_ is too good."

"Nate, don't you _dare_ tell him I was in here."

"Oh, I won't." He crosses his arms leaning against the wall cheekily. "I'm thinking that smile on your face might do the talking for me."

"I'm going to kill you, you know that?" She realizes now that he was right, and the smile on her face was proving to be nearly impossible to wipe off her face.

"Someone has the looooove smile." Haley says drawling out the word.

"Alright, Naley double team attack. Your point has been made. I'm in love with him!" Her eyes grow wide realizing she's just said this out loud and Nathan and Haley's expression immediately light up. Nathan begins to clap and Haley squeals.

"I've known that since we were in high school, but I'm very glad to hear you admit it out loud. Now, you need to tell the love struck puppy before he loses his mind."

"My two best friends." Haley says nearly cutting Nathan off in the midst of her own excitement. "This is _amazing."_ Haley embraces her in a hug and she can't help but to laugh.

"I think the kinks are ironed out now."

XXXX

She primped and prodded at the bottom of Karen's wedding gown that she had methodically worked on for weeks. When Karen had asked her to make her dress, it had far exceeded the honor of any job she had ever been given in the highest ranks of the fashion world. She couldn't contain the pride that was bubbling up inside of her as she took in the grace and beauty Karen showed today, and in every day since she had ever known her.

"Karen you look gorgeous. Andy isn't going to know what to do with himself when he sees you."

She smiled as she watched Karen run her hands over the waist of her dress staring in the floor length mirror. She tried to design the dress to be indicative of everything that Karen was; elegant. It was adorned with scattered beaded embellishments and a sheer plunging neckline. It fell into slightly draped satin that leads to a graceful pleated skirt finished with a train detailed with lace appliques. Despite its detail, the dress screamed simplicity. It brought of Karen's beauty.

"I think the beauty is all in the dress." Karen turns around and she returns to a standing position. "I can't thank you enough, Brooke. I wasn't sure I wanted to do a wedding dress, and the Church, and all of this craziness this time around. I just wanted to give Andy his wedding day. But, this dress… you really captured what I wanted. It's perfect."

"Karen, I owe you my entire life. This dress was the very least I could do."

"I'm so proud of you Brooke Davis. I never would have guessed that the chatty new girlfriend that sat along Lucas' bedside all that time ago would grow into family. But you did just that."

She averts her gaze from Karen crossing one ankle in front of the other as a shade of brazen shyness takes over her cheeks.

"I really didn't know how to shut up." She's laughing now as she wiping the accumulation of tears underneath her eyes as to not ruin her makeup.

"Ah, I find it endearing."

"Thank you for everything, Karen. That girl that you met then… I'm not sure I would be who I am today without your guidance and your belief in me. I know actually that I wouldn't."

"You are who you are today because of _you._ You might have had guidance, but you did all of that, Brooke. But you are right. I did believe in you. I still believe in you, and all that's still ahead for you. The best is yet to come."

Her body is propelled forward as she embraces Karen in a hug. And she remembers the first time that Karen had felt like a real mom to her.

 _Thank you, Karen. You know you saved my life, right?_

 _I know your parents are a lot more…. hands off._

 _Yeah._

 _But, I'm not going to make it easy on you, and sometimes you're not going to like me for it. When you're in my house, you live by my rules. There will be no staying out all night; no boys sleeping over. No…_

 _It's like having a real mom._

"Speaking of the future… I'm so happy that my son sees all of those same things in you. I'm thrilled that he loves you even more than I do. And…" A knock projects from the church sacristy room and they pull apart from one another laughing. "Saved by the bell. For now…"

"That must be Deb she was just bringing Lily to the bathroom." She says laughing as she makes her way to the door opening it.

XXXX

His eyes fluctuate from the door to the floor as he lightly rubs the back of his head. And he hears the swing of the door, his eyes are drawn upwards. And that's when he sees her. For the first time in ten days, he sees her.

She was wearing a three quarter sleeve navy lace dress with a scalloped lace detail at the hem that fell at her mid-thigh. Her skin gleamed with a bronze tone and her legs seemed to run on forever in a pair of nude stilettos. Her hair fell in loose curls past her shoulders. She took his breath away.

Their eyes locked on each other and it felt like in all of the hustle and bustle of the day's event time froze. It felt like it was just the two of them.

"Mom," He said to break his moronic, love struck silence, "…you look beautiful"

"I might even believe you if it was me you were looking at." His mother's laughter filled his ears pulling him out of his trance. Brooke looks away from him as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ears with an embarrassed smile on her face.

"I just wanted to check in. Uhm…" He blinks shaking his head gently to redirect his thoughts. It was hard to do that with her standing a few feet from him. "Andy's pretty nervous over there. Just wanted to see how you were doing, ma."

"I'm doing great. I've had a pretty great distraction from my nerves with Deb and Brooke here." His mother jostled Brooke playfully before pulling her into a half hug clearly trying to lighten Brooke's own nerves.

"Couldn't ask for better company." He clears his throat trying to not to make the situation awkward on Brooke. He had meant what he said. He didn't want to ambush her. He didn't want to jam his feelings down her throat. She knew how he felt. And he would wait for her. If she wanted to take the plunge, he would be here with open arms waiting to catch her and start a future. He'd wait a lifetime if he had to. But, it didn't mean that the waiting was killing him. Because every single day, all he wanted was her. "Well, I better go check on Andy before he passes out in the room."

As he walks up to his mom, he tenderly kisses her cheek.

"Life has this crazy way of surprising us, you know?" His eyes deviate to Brooke for a moment. "I'm so happy life brought Andy back to you. I couldn't be happier for the two of you. I love you."

"I love you, my boy." As they embrace one another in a hug, he watches Brooke as he peeks over his mother's shoulder.

"Well, I better go give Andy the talk." He cracks his knuckles letting a playful look take over his features. "I'll see you guys soon."

And as he walks out the room, his heart continues to beat heavily. The Brooke Davis effect…

XXXX

Clearing his throat, he pushes his seat from out from behind him tapping a knife against his cup. He had never been all that nervous public speaking. Today, though, he felt uncharacteristically jolted by nerves.

The wedding guests' gazes were all directed towards him, but he found himself only drawn to one. Her warm hazel orbs stared into his electric blue.

"It's been a long time since I've given a best man's speech. And the writer in me wanted to stand up here and say something romantically poignant. Maybe have Shakespeare or Jane Austen lend me some of their words. But when it came to scouring over the words of our times most meaningful romantic works, one phrase stuck out to me. And it wasn't from some world famous author. It was the words of someone far more impactful… at least to me. People that are meant to be together always find their way in the end." He can see an immediate change in her demeanor when he says this phrase.

"Life sometimes doesn't go the way we might have planned. But, somehow and when we least expect it, the unanticipated becomes the one thing we can't ever imagine this life without." He realizes that up until this point his eyes have been only locked on hers. He supposes he couldn't really help it. "Mom and Andy life has taken you both on a journey and despite all the twist and turns you've both ended up exactly where you were meant to be… with each other. I couldn't be happier that life has led the two of you back to each other, and I can't wait to see the life you two build. I love you both, and here's to the rest of your lives together."

As the crowd breaks out in cheers at the conclusion of his speech, he sees her begin to clap as well with a content smile on her face. Gesturing his cup ever so slightly to her, she smiles just as subtly. And he's not sure what it is but he can't help but feel that maybe this was a good sign.

XXX

"Are you sitting over here all by yourself, Coach Durham?" She sneaks up behind him as he looks up at her with a large grin on his face.

"Coach Durham? Please don't make me feel any more ancient than I already am. Whitey. Call me Whitey."

"Okay then, Whitey." She laughs taking a seat next to him.

"I just needed a breather. I call this here glass of scotch a breather." He raises his glass to her. She can't help but to smile at him. He was still as sharp as ever. There was something that comforted her in the presence of the older man.

"You say scotch, I say wine." She raises her own glass to him in reciprocation. "How are you, Whitey?"

"Feeling a hell of a lot older watching you kids go off and have kids." He laughs as he nods towards Nathan, Haley, and Jamie on the dance floor. "But I've been good. Taking some time for me."

"We miss you around here, you know? Lucas talks about you all the time."

The older man seems to be touched by that statement.

"If you don't mind me asking, does that mean you and Lucas are an item?"

She opens her mouth before closing it quickly. As she sees the sincerity pool over in his eyes, she makes a decision to be honest. Lucas and Nathan had always talked so highly about how Whitey had guided them when they needed direction the most. She figured she could use some of Whitey's wisdom.

"It's kind of a long story. Technically speaking, we're not."

"This is off the record." He gives a soft nod a smile giving her comfort to divulge to him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"At the basketball banquet, back before we won state, you talked about Camila. I'll never forget what you said. You talked about how the moment you met her you knew she was the one for you and that no one could ever come between the two of you. Later that night, Lucas and I decided maybe getting back together was a mistake because we didn't think that what you said described us, and …"

It was a question that she had always wanted to ask. The words of his speech had never left her.

"Well, of course it didn't."

He said if that was common sense. She couldn't quite decipher if he was insulting their relationship or making a point.

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't describe your love because it wasn't your love. But, guess what? It didn't describe Nathan and Haley, or Keith and Karen, or anyone. It was _our_ love. Every love has its own story; none the same."

She remains silent letting Whitey's words resonate with her.

"Some have more obstacles than others, but it doesn't make it any less of a love story. Look at Nathan and Haley. It hasn't always been rainbows and sunshine for them. It was hard. But, they got through it. And look at them now."

She gazes out over the dancefloor at the family Nathan and Haley had built for themselves. The smiles on their faces were glaring testimony to the love they shared.

"It can't be a love story if you leave the book closed."

"Why did they never offer you a part time gig as school counselor?" She laughs dabbing the corners of her eyes.

"No one would have listened to me then." He laughs taking a sip of his scotch.

"I could have named a few people who would have." The traces of laughter are absent from her voice this time. Advice has come in flurries to her recently from best friends and family alike. Whitey, however, took her by surprise. And somehow his words had been most poignant with her.

"Share a drink with an old timer, huh? Humor me with the story of you and Scott."

He perks his eyebrows up at her and she takes the bait laughing.

"Sure thing, Coach."

XXX

His arms leans against the bar as he rests his jaw between the crook of his hand with his eyes locked on one sight. She's on the dance floor swirling their god son around playfully. Jamie's eyes are lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as he laughs. He looks completely enthralled by her. 'You're not the only one kid,' he thought. Her dimples are on full display and it makes his heart skip a beat.

"Sir?"

His attentions are snapped back into focus as the bartender grabs his attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Did you need anything, sir?"

Glancing over his shoulder to her and Jamie, he decides that another drink doesn't sound like such a bad option.

"I'll take a Jack and Coke. Thanks."

He turns his back from the dance floor, and that's when he hears an all too familiar voice.

"Slow the roll there, Scott." He doesn't need to turn around to recognize the southern drawl.

"Just a little liquid courage." He gestures the newly served cup towards her.

"I'll do you one better."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Come dance with me."

He shies away from looking at her shrugging at this proposition. His mind was contending the outcomes of doing such.

"Luke, trust me." She says as if she's reading his mind. "One dance, okay?"

He finds himself softening his previous hesitancy to take her up on that dance. If he and Brooke were ever to be together again, there was going to need to be a level of trust with his friendship with Peyton. And maybe that starts right now.

He nods before the words are able to escape his mouth.

"Sure."

She's leading him to the dance floor, and he thinks back to the beginning.

 _Her classic car came barreling down the street with no regard for the speed limit. As his heart pounded with adrenaline paralyzed in his spot, he could see her head crouched down seemingly praying for the same thing he was: a stop. She slowly looks up having realized that by some stretch of a miracle he was still standing and her car intact._

 _He reached back and took off the hoodie to his worn sweatshirt and even in her own mistake she somehow seemed annoyed by him. Her furrowed his eyebrows trying to understand the encounter as he took out one earphone thinking that maybe just maybe a conversation would follow._

 _Instead, she gestured with her hands for him to get moving, and just like that he placed his headphones back in. He smirks in disbelief jogging off in the opposite direction._

 _And while the situation should have left him angry it only left him perplexed and somehow even more intrigued. While it seemed that maybe the extent of their interaction had ended there, he found himself knowing that somehow this was only the beginning._

And it had been just that. Their relationship had spanned far beyond that initial encounter. She had come into his life and left a footprint there. Something told him that would never change. And he didn't want it to. Her place in his life, though, was just different from what he thought it might have been then.

The stop on their place on the dance floor and he takes her in a friendly dance ever so often gazing over his shoulder to see if Brooke has taken notice.

"She looks really beautiful, doesn't she?"

"She always does." He says as his eyes never veer from Brooke. Finally as he rips his eyes off of her, he looks at the blonder standing in front of him.

 _First of all, you don't know me. Second of all, you don't know me._

His former teenage self had hoped to know Peyton Sawyer. He had daydreamed what it would be like to know the intricacies and layers that defined her. Smiling on the memory, he realizes the good fortune that he's had to have been able to know her. He wouldn't have traded any of that for the world. Knowing her had taught him more than he could have ever said.

"No matter what happened with our relationship, I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for it. Because I needed it. I needed you in this life."

His words seemed to have jolted her as she smiles sentimentally at this.

"You'll always be the first love of my life. I'm always going to be here, you know? And I know you will too. We'll always be friends, Lucas Scott. I'm going to hold you to that."

"You can count on it."

"But my first loyalty is being a friend to Brooke. She's been my friend since we were three years old, and I might not have always reflected that at times…" She seems visibly emotional over this statement. "But, to me… she's family. And so I have a condition."

"A condition?"

"You need to always make her laugh. Because she has this infectious, remarkable personality, and she deserves to smile just as much as she makes others. When she cries, you need to hold her. You need to always make her feel safe because she didn't have the family you and I did, Luke. _Be_ her family. Never stop telling her just how special she is. Don't ever let her forget that she changed your whole world. And when she's ready, and you're ready to tell the whole world all of those things, then I need to be your first call. Because since I was eight years old, she told me that if I do not take her future fiancée ring shopping then I would be in big trouble. I'm standing by that promise."

He got lost somewhere in the middle of her speech, and he's found himself completely confused by this point. She only seems to smile more the more confused he looks.

"Peyton, I'm not sure that's something that's happening right now."

"Well then, how about you turn around?"

"What?" He's completely perplexed by this point, and he's sure his facial features area a testament to this.

"Turn around, Lucas."

Very slowly, he loosens his hold of Peyton and sees Brooke standing near feet behind him smiling. Turning back to Peyton, he sees her smiling as well before she winks and ushers him forward with her arms. Had they intended for this to happen this way?

"Don't forget what I said." She says before slowly backing up and through the crowd towards Nathan and Haley.

And then it's just the two of them standing in the center of the dance floor. Digging his hands into the pockets of his tuxedo, he tries to process what's happening.

"Brooke, what's going on?"

"Where does that offer stand on the date you needed for today?"

He opens his mouth falling speechless. Every muscle in his body seems to tense as he tries to analyze what this means.

"Dance with me."

The words still strike a nerve with him.

 _So, I guess we never finished that conversation._

 _Dance with me._

 _Did you miss me while you were away?_

 _Every day. I was just angry and upset about Keith and I just needed to be alone, but that doesn't mean that I didn't miss you, Brooke. Because I did._

 _I needed to hear your voice. There's just so much stuff going on with me._

Instinctually, he takes her in his arms swallowing past a nervous lump in his throat.

"I uhm…" He says closing his eyes trying to gather himself. "Forgive me if I'm a little slow here, but we haven't talked in ten days. So, I guess I'm wondering what is all of this?"

"You've had your platform. You've had your chance to talk. Right now, I'm talking, okay? I just need you to listen."

He nods acknowledging that he understands her.

"You were right. I was scared. I _am_ scared. And because of that I ran. To me, it's the only thing that made sense. Build up a wall. Protect myself. Distance you as much as I could. Because if I did, I didn't have to relive what it felt like to lose you or acknowledge that you were lost at all really. So, I kept running. And it wasn't until recently that I realized that this time I wasn't running alone. I was being chased. I began to see that you weren't letting me get away; no matter how fast I ran or where I turned you were there. I know I seem difficult and frustrating. And it might not make sense, but I had to be that way. I needed my heart to be sure." She pauses taking a deep breath. "I told someone once that love doesn't knock often, and when it does you have to let it in. I preached it, and I did the exact opposite. But, love… love's the key."

 _That's the key. Success is wonderful, but finding to love and having them love you back… love is what it's all about._

"I could lock myself away from everything that scares me or… I could let love open the door. And that's the thing." She shrugs in this way that is shy and sexy all at that same time. He's completely captivated by it. "I don't want to hide behind a door anymore. I want to open my heart to you. I want to let you in."

"So, let me get this straight." He stammers slowly trying to make sure that this fantasy is actually a reality. "You want to let _me_ in?"

"Yes."

"Yes?" He finds himself asking the question again. Her answer sounded so _damn_ good.

"Yeah, Luke." She's laughing now looking up at him with her dimples that could send shockwaves through his heart.

"Then you need to listen to me now, okay?" The steadiness in his voice is wavering as he battles through emotion. "If you say yes, then this is _it._ The past… it's there. It will always be. So, when you say you're say you're going to trust me, we need to trust each other. You give me your trust, and you have all of mine. If you're scared, or doubtful, we face it… together. It's all in, okay? You and me. Okay. I need you to promise me that. Everything else is just static. If we have other, then that's all that matters. I need you to believe that, too."

"You have me, Luke." She sniffles back past her tears and he realizes that to the people dancing around them they must look crazy. And truthfully they are; crazy about each other. "I love you _so_ much. And I'm tired of loving you until it hurts. And that's what loving you and not having you does. It _hurts_. I love you. I'm crazy in love with you. I'm all in."

 _Can't control love, you know? Your mom and Keith; you're worried about their relationship, right?_

 _Right._

 _It will be okay. People that are meant to be together always find their way in the end._

He looks down at her through teary eyes as her arms are draped around his neck. His memory takes him back to the exact moment when her arms donned the same position; a direct call back to the moment he alluded to in his best man's speech.

In that moment, he had agonized over the irony of her words; words that he had interpreted about Peyton in his mind. And now as they danced slowly in the center of the dancefloor, he felt the immensity of those words in his heart. The beginning and the middle of their journey wasn't the end of the road. The twists and turns of love had taken them on their own path at times. But now, their paths converged again in a serendipitous and perfect way. What he had learned was exactly that; people that are meant to be together always find their way in the end. Brooke Davis was his destiny. She may not who he was supposed to start his story with, but she was _exactly_ who he was meant to end it with.

He felt overcome by the emotion of all the energy it had taken to get to this point. So, he channeled all of that into the only thing that felt unequivocally right to him. He leaned down and placed a chaste, passionate kiss on her lips. He doesn't know how long it is. And when it was all over and done with, he couldn't have said how long they stayed there in that moment kissing; however, he knew that it was perfect. Pulling apart from her lips, he leans his forehead against her own.

"Pretty girl?"

"Yeah?" She asks nearly out of breath from the kiss.

"Will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes." She says exasperatedly in what sounds to be both a laugh and a cry.

"I love you. I love you more and more every day."

"I know. I know you do." And this time he believes it.

XXXX


	12. When We Were Young

So this is it, the end!

Give When We Were Young- Adele a listen while you read.

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read and review the story! It means a lot, and keeps me writing! I have an idea for a new story that I'm really excited about. Read and review this chapter and let me know that there's still some brooke/lucas fans out there!

Disclaimer: Characters, plot points, and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwann and One Tree Hill writers.

-L-

His eyes gazed out over the hardwood haven. The sights and sounds of the old gymnasium competed for his attention. He had this strange feeling that he was having a hard time processing. It's the oldest story in the world. One day you're seventeen and planning for someday. And then quietly and without you ever really noticing, someday is today. And then someday is yesterday. And this is your life.

He had turned 30 a few months ago; a number that had once seemed so ancient to him. And all of the sudden it had snuck up on him. As a 17 year old playing on this very court, he was a boy in search of answers. He had joined the Ravens for vindication in his heart that he belonged here. He desperately wanted to channel his resentment towards his brother through the game. He put on the jersey to prove to his father that his last name didn't shackle him. He wanted to find love with the girl that he had watched for so long from afar.

His eyes wandered to his mom in the stands who stood there with her hands folded against her chin watching him. And he smiled up to her as he thought of a conversation with his mom that had spoken volumes to him.

 _I know you're searching for things, Lucas. And I hope with all my heart that you find the answers to your questions. The answers that you're looking for are closer than you think. They're in your heart and in the hearts of those who love you. And that is right here; your home. In your life, you're going to go to some great places and you're going to do some wonderful things, but no matter where you go or who you become this place will always be with you. There is only one Tree Hill, and it's your home. I love you my boy._

13 years after he had heard the words, they have finally come full circle for him. There was only _one_ Tree Hill. All the answers he was seeking he had eventually found. He had learned that this place that he had once felt so isolated in was exactly where he belonged. His brother, whom he once felt such animosity towards, now stood alongside him as their jerseys were about to be hung from the rafters to never to be worn again as his best friend. His last name that he once felt bound by he had found pride in through his love of his uncle, the forgiveness he had found in his father, and in his devotion towards his children. And the love he had been searching for well… he had found that. It may not have been where he had ever anticipated to find it, but the love he found was well worth the wait.

He feels his brother jostle his arm with his elbow and he shakes his head to pull himself out of his reverie.

"We really did it, huh man?"

He laughs realizing that God truly did have a hell of a sense of humor. They had made it. Through all of the ups and downs that life sent their way, they had survived it all.

"Yeah we did." He extended his hand to which Nathan reciprocated his fist bump smiling at him. He finds himself having to blink past the past. The loud music of the gym seems to fall silent to him as the large crowd of people virtually disappears in his mind. If only for a second, as he stares at his brother, he can see his teenaged brother donning the Tree Hill Raven blue jersey as he wears a confident smiling pointing up to him in gratitude for teaching him the fade away. The sixteen year old Nathan disappears before his eyes as he is replaced by the face of husband and father beaming proudly at his family. Following his gaze, he sees his best friend; his partner in crime before the world of Tree Hill had ever invaded their tiny bubble. That same girl is staring back at him sitting in the stands wearing a familiar green cardigan that was just so _Haley._ Her chin is resting against her hands as her auburn hair framed her youthful face. It all felt like just yesterday…

More than a decade later, and their former teenage selves may have faded but their evolution gave him tremendous comfort in all of the change of life. Haley stood in the stands with her now blonde locks and a smile that showed him that her happiness was not just for show; it was genuine. A 12 year old Jamie stood beside her looking much older resembling his father more and more every day. Jamie had developed into a tremendous basketball player whom he had no doubts would join the likes of his uncle and father along the retired Raven jerseys; but more importantly, he was an even better person. Sitting just a row in front of Haley and Jamie was the newest additions to their family: Lydia and Jackson. Lydia who was now 6 was growing into quite the little lady. Her knowledge and zest for learning floored him. She truly was a little Haley. Jackson, the 3 year old baby of the family, was standing atop the seat hoisting his toy basketball above his head in joyful exuberance. When he had first heard Nathan and Haley had been seeing each other, he had felt betrayed; hoping and praying that it would crumble. He had never been so happy to be wrong in his life. Their enduring love had given him hope each and every single day.

He sees Haley and Brooke exchange conversation and laughter amongst themselves and their children. He thinks back to a distant memory.

 _They all sat around the fire pit in Nathan and Haley's backyard sitting in the four Adirondack chairs which had framed the outskirts of the fire. Haley is in the middle of a story and he can't concentrate. Tonight was the night he and Brooke had decided they were going to tell their best friends that they were in fact back together; finally a couple._

 _They were waiting for the right moment and through the roaring of the fire he stares through it catching Brooke's smile on the other side of it. Maybe it was the beers or maybe just his unadulterated happiness, but he couldn't wait any longer. Haley wraps up her story and he mouths "now" to Brooke who smiles back to him._

 _"_ _So…" He leans forward against the Adirondack chair. "I have a little bit of news."_

 _"_ _News?" Nathan asks quizzically._

 _"_ _Well… we have some news."_

 _Haley looks back and forth between him and Brooke as if she was watching a game of ping pong._

 _"_ _We?"_

 _"_ _Lucas and I are back together."_

 _"_ _What?!" Haley's shriek is nearly deafening as her jaw drops before she immediately shoots up not knowing which direction to go first. He finds it comical. "You guys! Oh my God!"_

 _"_ _You sneaky sons of bitches." Nathan gets up as well smiling from ear to ear. "Congratulations guys! It's about damn time." He walks over to Brooke hugging her tightly before shaking his brother's hand and clanking his beer against his own. In all the time of congratulation, Haley still hasn't been able to process what direction she wants to go in._

 _"_ _Guys, I'm so happy I don't even know which one of you to hug first."_

 _"_ _You can start with me." Brooke laughs walking over to Haley who quickly envelops her in a hug._

 _"_ _Ah Brooke, we could be sisters in law! Our kids will be cousins. And oh my God, the double dates we're going to have!" Haley is talking a million miles an hour and Brooke is laughing._

 _"_ _Tutor girl, exactly how many drinks have you had?"_

 _"_ _You just made my wife's whole year." Nathan whispers to him as he stands beside him with his arms crossed and a smile on his face watching the scene._

 _"_ _However, many I've had add a few more to the list. We're celebrating tonight!"_

 _Nathan walks over leaning in to the cooler they had brought outside grabbing four new cold beers and handing them out._

 _"_ _Hey. Cheers to brucas." He takes a few steps to his right to stand next to Brooke as he wraps his arm around her waist. "Here's to lifetime of happiness for you both. I know that we couldn't be happier for the both of you."_

 _"_ _Thanks Nate." Brooke says sincerely._

 _"_ _Jamie is going to be over the moon." Haley says still wearing a goofy grin on her face. "I'm over the moon. Guys, this is so awesome."_

 _He looks down to Brooke who looks back up at him. She was awesome. This_ was _awesome._

The familiar faces of those he had grown up with were spread throughout the stands reflecting faces long since matured. Mouth, the boy who had once been viewed as more of a friend than a boyfriend, stood grinning from ear to ear standing behind Millie with his hands resting over her pregnant stomach. Skills was swaying to the music dancing goofily eliciting laughter from his girlfriend, Bevin. Fergie and Junk stood mingling with all of the kids earning raucous laughter from the children. Even Rachel joined the crew. He never thought he would be happy to see the likes of the redhead around in his daily life. Nevertheless, he was. She had gone to rehab and had worked tirelessly to get her life together. In turn, he had seen the ferocity of her friendship. He had seen firsthand her unwavering loyalty to Brooke and in turn to their relationship.

 _"_ _Hey." He takes a place next to her aside the bar at Tric as she dips her straw in and out of her water. "You okay?"_

 _"_ _Yeah." She seems to mull this over momentarily before continuing on. "Yeah. I'm okay. I just haven't been in a bar environment since I decided to get clean… actually be clean. It's just a test, you know?"_

 _He looks down at the beer in his hand and places it down at the bar before and digging his hand in his back pocket calling the bartender over._

 _"_ _Hey buddy. Can I get two Shirley temples, please?"_

 _"_ _Shirley Temples? Are you planning on telling me you're gay, too?"_

 _"_ _Ha ha." He pays the bartender and slides the one drink her way. "For you. Cheers."_

 _She stares at him for a second and he can see a familiarity in her eyes. In some many ways, she reminds him of Brooke; an assertion he would have scoffed at when he had first met her._

 _"_ _You're doing great, Rach. If you get stuck; if you feel like the weight of it all is too much… we're here, you know? Brooke is_ so _proud of you. She's so happy you're home. So I'm telling you cheers. I have your back too, Rach. So, take the freaking Shirley Temple and try to remember that here, with us, you're not out of place. You're home."_

 _"_ _Well, I'm starting to understand why Brooke couldn't say no to your scrawny ass."_

 _He can't help but to laugh at her._

 _"_ _You know that's part of the reason I came over here. I have a favor to ask."_

 _"_ _What's that?"_

 _"_ _I'm gonna ask her to marry me."_

 _"_ _I could have told you that the night that I stripped in front of you and your only response was that she was the one for you." She chuckles. "You were either stupid or actually really… in love. I'm glad it was the latter."_

 _"_ _Well, since I don't want to be stupid, that's where the favor comes in. I know Brooke and I want her to have the perfect ring. I asked Haley and Peyton to come with me, but… I'd really like it if you would come."_

 _"_ _Me?"_

 _"_ _Look, Rach. Peyton's known her since she was in diapers. Haley's practically her sister. But you… you're more like Brooke than anyone. You guys have this bond. She appreciates you more than you know. I think it's because she feels most comfortable with you. She feels exactly like herself with you. Getting a ring for Brooke without your help… well, it just doesn't feel right."_

 _"_ _I uh…" He knows that sensitivity was never really Rachel's strong suit; well, actually he knew that allowing others to see her sensitivity wasn't her strong suit. In this moment, though, she let her emotions show. As her eyes clouded with tears, even if only for a brief moment, she reaches forward and hugs him._

 _"_ _I would love to."_

 _"_ _Thank God! I need some Rachel to keep me in line."_

 _"_ _I know he's hot, Rach, and I know you think I'm hot. Don't tell me you're trying for a threesome."_

 _Suddenly, Brooke is standing just inches away from both of them. Instantly bouncing back to her cool demeanor he watches as Rachel rolls her eyes._

 _"_ _Don't flatter yourself there, Davis. You're not my type."_

 _"_ _Oh, sure. So boyfriend, best friend, what are you two looking so happy about over here?"_

 _"_ _Well…"_

 _"_ _I'm just counting my blessings to be back here… with you guys. I'm really lucky, you know?"_

 _"_ _We just may even adopt you, Rachy."_

 _He and Rachel laugh, and he realizes that Rachel isn't just an important friend in Brooke's life. She's about to be one in his._

His eyes continue to travel over his friends who have assembled in the stands.

Peyton Sawyer.

 _I'll be seeing you._

Four words that had carried over the course of 13 years. Four words that had carried multiple meanings to him. Four words that had never quite made sense to him. Now, they had. He had seen her again. He always would see her again and he hoped that that would never change. He loved Peyton Sawyer; a love that had proven to be enigmatic to him. He loved her as one of his very best friends.

And as she stood in the stands smiling widely, a far cry from the serious look she had so often wore as a teenager, he can see the girl he once knew. Head fulls of curls hiding behind the cheer of her pom-poms with an all too somber look on her face. As quickly as that vision appeared, it was gone; replaced by that same smile she currently wore. He knew that everything in their lives had fallen into place exactly as it was meant to be. Peyton is pointing appearing to be in the middle of a story talking to Brooke and Haley who are both laughing wildly. Brooke does a little dance and Peyton responds with something similar and he immediately recognizes it to be a dance that they had done together since they were kids. These two girls whom had once been a part of the revolving love triangle were now stronger friends than ever. Some days, he's not sure what he's happiest about; his own relationship with Brooke or that Brooke and Peyton were able to rebuild their friendship. He supposes it's a combination of both.

Two hands take a hold of Peyton's shoulders and Jake enters the picture. She looks up at him just as his would to Brooke: with total adoration. It didn't happen overnight. It hadn't been planned. Their chapter had been reopened by chance. She had driven to Savannah one weekend for the Savannah Stopover Music Festival in the historic district to see if she could find some raw talent to bring to Red Bedroom Records. She hadn't found any talent, but she did bump into an old, familiar face while in line for a drink. After months of exchanged text messages and FaceTime calls, she finally worked up the guts to ask Jake out. Trust had been built and they realized a sentiment that he once had with Brooke as well: time could pass and obstacles could stand in their way but in the end it had always been the two of them.

 _What if you're wrong? What if I go back and my heart just aches for you like it has for months._

 _Well, then I'll still be here. And if it's meant to be...we'll be together._

 _Someday._

Peyton hadn't known it yet, but as Jake told him he was planning on proposing to her next weekend. He couldn't contain his elation at this. And he thinks back to a conversation with Peyton.

 _The sun was sunning brightly on his face as they had all gathered at their home for a barbeque Brooke had orchestrated. His wife had been quite the event planner. Sometimes, he wonders what they would all do if it weren't for Brooke. He flipped burgers and hot dogs one by one over the stainless steel grill of his outdoor kitchen._

 _"_ _You know I'm not buying that she's actually pregnant. She looks too damn good." He turns to see Peyton sneak up beside him and he begins to laugh. "It's not even fair."_

 _"_ _She's definitely got the glow, doesn't she?"_

 _"_ _She does." She nods her head in concordance. Their gazes are both drawn to their significant others talking to each other standing by the pool. "You too, Luke."_

 _"_ _Glowing?"_

 _"_ _Yeah. Brooke brings out your smile."_

 _"_ _You know, I could say the same about you. You're really happy, aren't you Peyt?"_

 _"_ _I am." He can see in her eyes that her thoughts are drifting off to a Jake induced trance and she snaps back to it. "I forgot what it was like to be this in love. It had been so fleeting back in high school. We never really had our shot, you know? I feel like this is really it. This is our time."_

 _"_ _Yeah. I know exactly what you mean." He felt the exact same way about Brooke. His eyes soften as he stares at that beautiful girl of his. "Some days I wake up and I wonder what the hell I ever did without her." They both laugh each knowing this realization all too. "And then I realize that all of it was_ so _worth it. Anything that ever happened led us here. Look at us now, Peyt. We found good ones, didn't we?"_

 _"_ _We found the best ones."_

The best one.

That led his sights right to her; his Cheery; his wife; his Brooke.

And just as it had with the others, time played tricks on his eyes. Suddenly, he doesn't see the 29 year old woman; instead, he sees the girl who stood along the baseline just as she had game after game. Her eyes glowed with youthful exuberance as she shook her pom-poms with almost musical rhythm. She was there for him; she cheered for him.

A blink was all it took, and then that image was gone. And what replaced it had been a vision that only he could see in his wildest dreams. She stood at the epicenter of his friends and family. Their daughter graces her hip as she holds on tightly to Brooke. His daughter's face lights up like fireworks on the Fourth of July at whatever Brooke is whispering in her ear.

Brooke was attractive for so many reasons. But, watching her as the mother of his child had been what had attracted him most to her. She was a fantastic mother to their two children.

Grace, his tiny reflection of Brooke, was 3 years old. She demonstrated an unfearful attitude towards life. She's precocious and bubbly and smart. Sometimes, it scared him just how smart she was. She was his little sweet heart. He wanted her to be his little girl forever.

And Keith was his inquisitive little man. He had turned 18 months a few weeks ago. He was still taking in all this world had to offer. He took in every sight, every sound, every touch. He could see in his eyes that he was always learning. He was his smiley little gentleman. He couldn't wait to teach him to play basketball at the river court.

And Brooke continued to be a surprise to him every day. She was his breath of fresh air. Her hair had grown below her breast and it fell in deliberate, messy waves. Her dimples seemed almost deeper. She looked better than she ever had. He surmised that happiness was the cause of that.

He was standing at center court about to be honored by Whitey Durham, a hero in his eyes, in front of hundreds of cheering fans. His jersey number was about to be immortalized in the likes of the history of Tree Hill. It had been a dream.

But, that dream had been all too pale in comparisons to the three dreams who waved back at him from the stands. He couldn't wait to be off the court and holding his children in his arms and kissing Brooke. He couldn't wait to make more babies with her. He couldn't wait for each and every day and the journey that had meant for their family. They had been his greatest dream come true. Even when everything else felt like it could fall apart, it was those smiling faces who stood next to him through it all.

He waves back to his children and winks to Brooke. As he watches her mouth "I love you" to him, he can feel his pulse quicken. He mocked a kiss in her direction, and he felt whole.

He loved Keith and Grace with his whole being.

And he was crazy in love with Brooke Davis.

Life was good. Life was g _reat_. And it was all because of them.

XXXX

-B-

When she was sixteen years old, she can remember distinctly the life plan she had concocted for herself. She had always envisioned that she would graduate from Tree Hill and attend a school of high social standing; a school that most likely her father had connections with. She would go on to meet a man who was on pace to make a lot of money; a man who would be able to provide her the life and luxury she had grown up in. She would take spin classes and shop at designer stores to occupy her time. At sixteen, she hadn't seen much possibility. She hadn't realized that she deserved so much more than the picture she had envisioned for herself.

Her breath becomes almost staggered as she tries to comprehend the life she had once saw for herself and the life she currently has. She would never ever have been able to foresee that she would channel all of her creative energy and passion into a clothing company that would bring her not only success but happiness; a company that she had learned to leave her own mark on; a fortune that she had not depended on a man for but rather built for herself. She never could have imagined a day when she would be standing on such an important night surrounded by her friends that had turned into family, a mother in law who had developed into her rock, and parents who had… well, finally learned how to be the parents she had craved for so long.

"Mommy!" She feels a light tug at her jeans as her direction is drawn to the tiny girl. Her bright eyes look back at her as she is giggling with an indescribable innocence and childlike wonder. The little girl's dimples shine back at her, and she immediately feels a smile reciprocating on her own face.

Of all the things she had ever seen for herself, being a mother hadn't always been one of them. The single greatest job she ever had or could ever have had been exactly this.

"Can you lift me?"

She leans down and hoists the small girl onto her hip kissing her on the cheek. She looks over to her Karen who is standing only one row in front of her coddling her nearly 18 month old son in her arms with joy in her eyes. Her little mini Lucas was enamored by the scene of the gym. His eyes latch on to Brooke and he smiles with his precious little smile.

"Anything for my Gracie. What do you say do you want to watch daddy with me?"

"Yes!"

"Come here, baby girl." She hoists her onto her hip as she takes a step down next to Karen and Haley. She kisses Keith blowing rasberries on his cheek as the little boy laughs wildly.

"Somebody has a crush on their mommy." Karen laughs looking over to her.

"Oh, you just wait until they call Luke's name. He's obsessed." She still thought it was the cutest thing in the world how Luke-crazy Keith was for his dad.

She never would have thought that at nearly 30 years old she would be a mother to two children who filled her heart with more love than she ever could have imagined. She never would have thought for even a second that she, the girl who never had a stable family, would turn out to have built such a beautiful, crazy, perfect family. But she had.

 _She feels like she's sleep walking as she makes her way through their second floor hallway towards the nursery. It was Lucas' night to wake up with the baby, but once she heard her cry she felt compelled to want to be there with her. She couldn't get enough. So, now as she walked in a zombie like trance she stops just before the doorway listening in._

 _"_ _Hey baby girl." She eyes Lucas holding the tiny baby in his hands kissing her forehead before sitting down in the rocking chair. He puts a bottle in her mouth soothing the little girl who stares up at him with wide eyes. "That's more like it. You just wanted to hang out, huh? Is that what all that noise was about? Huh?" He laughs looking at their daughter with eyes full of pride and adoration. "That's okay. I want to hang out with you too. I bet you didn't know something about me. I used to want to have a little boy of my own one day. I thought it would be the coolest thing so that I could teach my son how to play basketball. And then I met your mommy. And I realized how much I wanted a little girl that looked just like her. With your little button nose…" He runs his fingers over her nose. "And that smile. And your big, beautiful eyes. You and your mom are my two pretty girls. You guys have me wrapped around your fingers. For as long as I live, everything I do will be for you and mommy. I want to protect you guys and make you laugh and make you feel loved. You already have my whole heart. Daddy's obsessed. No boy is ever going to be good enough for you."_

 _She hears Grace coo at this and his laugh soon follows. At seventeen, she didn't think it was possible to love Lucas any more than she did. And then at 23, she had thought the same. Now, she realized that the love she had for him both times was not even a fraction of the love she has for him. Seeing Lucas as a father filled her heart with more love for him than she ever thought possible. Each and every time she watched her husband with her daughter her entire heart swelled._

 _She pokes her head into the room making her presence known. He looks up smiling and she can see the tiredness in his eyes as well._

 _"_ _How long were you there?"_

 _"_ _Oh you know…" She saunters over towards the two of them kneeling next to the rocking chair kissing the top of Grace's head before leaning up and kissing him on the lips. "Long enough to realize just how lucky I am."_

 _He leans his head against the back of the rocking chair smiling at her. He removes the near empty bottle from Grace's mouth and he places his hand against her cheek allowing her to rest her head._

 _"_ _Thank you." He says and she tilts her head against his hand at this. "I used to think playing basketball was my dream. And writing. But this… I'm living my dream. You've given me that; it's you and Grace."_

 _She mulls this over allowing a smirked to emerge on her lips._

 _"_ _You really wanted a boy, huh?"_

 _"_ _Well… whoever said we were finished?" He wiggles his eyebrows at her suggestively and she laughs heartily._

 _God, she loved him._

 _And she loved their family even more._

She snuggles the little girl in her arms tightly as she whispers in her ear.

"Look Gracie daddy is waving to you!"

Her entire chest fills with joy as she watches Grace's face light up with love for her father. He stood at center court alongside Nathan for their jersey retirement. He waved over animatedly to their daughter before stopping taking a moment to wink at her. She mouths "I love you" to him before he mocks a kiss back to her with his lips. This was an honor that she was so proud of him for. But, she was far more proud of the man he had become. She was infinitely amazed at how he could make her make her feel so special, and _so_ loved. This man that she had fallen in love with had showed her that it was possible to fall more in love with someone each and every single day.

 _"_ _Luke, babe, I really don't want to miss the ball drop!" She whined as he led her up the steps of Tric towards the office._

 _"_ _I know we won't! Hales and Nate said Peyton told them she had a surprise for all of us up here. I don't know. I just know Haley will kick my ass if we don't show."_

 _Peyton had organized a Tric hosted New Year's Eve party, and she couldn't have been more excited. New Year's Eve had always been her favorite holiday. It promised hope for each new year. On this night, there was a promise that the looming year could be a vessel for anything: change, love, potential._

 _And with how happy she had been lately she couldn't wait to see what this year had in store for her as well._

 _"_ _Well, the surprise has caught my attention."_

 _"_ _How did I know that it might?" She hears the sound of his laughter and it immediately fills her with warmth._

 _"_ _A closed door? P. Sawyer really keeping the surprise on lock." She pushes open the door knob and is met with darkness._

 _"_ _Luke, there's no lights. Nobody's…" She stops her words midsentence as the lights suddenly go on. Her jaw drops taking it all in. Decorative string lights had been draped across the ceiling creating a beautifully lit ambiance. Red roses were scattered around the room in glasses vases. Golden balloons were strategically placed across the room with pictures of her and Lucas attached at the ends of the strings. She takes a step forward taking a hold of the one of the pictures in her hand. She swallows deeply past the lump in her throat as she realized that this was far from the surprise she had been anticipating._

 _Turning around with tears glistening in her eyes, she finds him directly behind her on his knee. His smile alone could have lit up the room._

 _"_ _Okay, I don't have much time here. Actually I have exactly 1 minute and 42 seconds." He shows her the time on his phone ticking down. "For so much of my life, I've wasted time. Each new year that began was another year where I was searching. And the last 19 months with you, have proven something in my heart. You are one of the most frustratingly stubborn, impatient women I have ever met. You listen to Beyonce way too much for my personal well-being, and I'm not entirely convinced you are able to cook anything that's actually edible. But… I love those things. I even love the things about you that I shouldn't. I've fallen forever in love with your vivacious spirit that has made my life an adventure, your amazing grace and bravery that never ever ceases to amaze me, and your unparalleled kindness that has changed me and inspired me to always want to be a better person. I wake up every day with you by my side, and I know exactly what my new year's resolution is. This year I want to make sure that for the rest of my life Beyonce is played under my roof, we have plenty of take out menus, and you say yes to starting the resting of our lives together. I love you and I want to build a family with you and for the rest of your life I want to give you all the love and happiness you have always deserved. So… 21 seconds to spare." He takes a deep breath reaching into his pocket revealing a ring box to which he opens a ring that takes her breath away. "Brooke Penelope Davis, will you marry me and give me a New Year's Eve kiss with my fiancée?"_

 _She wipes away tears from her eyes as she tries to gather enough composure to form an answer. Laughing in spite of herself, she furiously begins to nod her head._

 _"_ _Yes!" She shrieks. "Of course, I want to marry you!"_

 _He throws his head back in relief as a childlike smile washes over his face. Gliding the ring onto her finger, he stands up pulling her closely towards him. He lifts his into the air kissing her as he twirls her through the air._

 _"_ _I was a nervous wreck." He laughs in between kisses. "I love you. I love you. I love you." He whispers in between kisses. And she knows that this year will be the best yet._

He had shown her that growing up in a broken family hadn't been an indicator for the future that was awaiting her. He had shown her that it was possible for a husband and wife to form a marriage whose love lasted. It was possible to build a family rooted in love.

 _Bringing her Starbucks half-caf iced caramel macchiato to her lips, she tilts her head watching as her husband walked slightly ahead of her pointing out the giraffe exhibit to their daughter. They had been planning this trip for weeks and Grace had been so excited. She watched the interaction between father and daughter and how her small face lit up with fascination as she watched Lucas speak animatedly about something and the giggles that ensued. He scooped her up tickling her before placing her back down and placing her on the ground taking her hand in his own beginning to walk to the next exhibit._

 _She places her hand atop her pregnant stomach and her mind wanders back to her own childhood. She can still remember so vividly looking up to her own father and seeking his affection. She can remember all of the days spent with him when should would try to grasp his hand playfully or when she would call on him to do just that. It was also another story. He was on the phone with a colleague or was in the middle of something. He couldn't just hold her hand. He couldn't just be a father._

 _She also told herself that one day when she met the right person for her he would be someone who would be a good father; someone who could be to their daughter what her father had never been to her. Watching Lucas hold Grace's small hand in his own made her realize that she had found that very man; a man who loved their family with every fiber of his being; a man who prided himself on being a father and who never shied away from showing that to Grace every single day; a man who after all this time could still make her heart swell._

 _She watches as he pauses stopping to look back at her. With a smile on his face, he calls out to her._

 _"_ _You coming babe?"_

 _"_ _Mommy! Mommy! Come!"_

 _He holds his hand out to her. Laughing at her reminiscent childhood thoughts she begins to walks towards them. She knows she found the exact man she had always dreamed of._

Their life together hadn't been perfect. Nothing in life ever was. But, her life with him had been the single greatest adventure she had ever partaken in. And she couldn't wait to take on their next adventure. Her thoughts drift to the pregnancy test she had taken a few days ago; a positive one at that. She couldn't wait to tell Lucas. She smiles back to the day that they had decided to move in together and start one of the first steps to the rest of their life.

 _"_ _Ya know, I really thought the novelty of this idea sounded so good in theory." Their laughter is contagious to one another as they laugh over the box of pizza and the now second bottle of red wine they have moved on to._

 _"_ _Oh, is sitting on a hard wood floor starting to bother you?"_

 _They continue to laugh; a product of the wine. They're sitting atop fleece blankets as their large living room remains bare. They closed sale on their brand new home about three weeks ago, and today they were able to finally move in. One small problem though: the movers delayed the delivery of their furniture and belongings until tomorrow._

 _So, in the mean time it was just the two of them, a few packed up cardboard boxes of clothes scattered haphazardly, and some pizza._

 _And if she was being honest, she could not have been more content here… with only him. And the more buzzed… well, drunk… she became the more she felt just that._

 _"_ _I have another idea." He holds his finger up setting down his glass and arising to a squatted position extending his hand for her to embrace. "Come with me."_

 _As she stands up, she realizes just how buzzed they are._

 _"_ _Where are you taking me?" She giggles as he begins to point to a corner of their living room just besides their stacked stone fireplace and bay windows which looked out over their backyard._

 _"_ _Right there." He held her hand pulling her closer and she can see in his eyes that he is envisioning something. "That's where we'll put our Christmas Tree. And there…"_

 _He spins quickly and she can't stop laughing._

 _"_ _Right at that kitchen island, we'll cook pancakes and eggs and bacon and everything on Sunday mornings and the kids will all run down the steps for us."_

 _"_ _Kids, huh?"_

 _"_ _Oh, yeah." His eyes look like they're lighting up with fireworks as he pulls her through the spacious home and towards the staircase near the entryway climbing the steps._

 _"_ _This right here. This will be Grace's room."_

 _"_ _Enlighten me again on who Grace is?" Her cheeks nearly hurt at how much she is smiling._

 _"_ _Just our daughter."_

 _"_ _And across the hall there. Well, that's our son's room. And the room at the end of the hall. We're in the middle of making it a nursery for when we decide to try again. We want the age gap of the kids to be just right."_

 _"_ _Question. Did you slip yourself anything in this wine?"_

 _"_ _Nope." He whispers grabbing the belt loop of her jeans backing her up slowly against the wall; his face mere inches from hers. "I just can't wait to officially live with you… in our own home. And make it a home together and watch the family we'll make here."_

 _She leans up kiss him and responds._

 _"_ _Two boys and girl."_

 _She finds herself huffing out in between kisses._

 _"_ _You remembered." He smiles into her mouth continuing to kiss her._

 _"_ _Mhm. Do you think maybe we should practice?" Her eyebrow kinks up as she smirks at him. "I mean on that uhm… baby making."_

 _"_ _Oh yeah. I think practice makes perfect." Their kisses deepen and before she realizes it he lifts her up wrapping her legs around his waist carrying her forward towards what would be their bedroom door. Pushing the door forward, he returns her to the ground._

 _"_ _And luckily for you, I was able to sneak in one very valuable piece of furniture."_

 _The room was bare except for a mattress that laid on the ground with a perfectly made set of sheets atop of it. She laughs out at just how crazy, ridiculously thoughtful, and sexy her fiancé of hers really was. Sometimes, she felt like she needed to pinch herself to remind herself that it was all still real. It wasn't a dream._

 _Except, that wasn't true. It was a dream. It was their dream. And they were living it together._

 _"_ _Oh, I think you need to lie me down on that bed right now." She pulls the collar of his Ralph Lauren thermal towards her kissing him._

 _XXXX_

-L-

The roar of the music in the gym died down as Whitey walked to the microphone set up at center court tapping them both as he walked by.

"This is a special night not just for all of you today, and not just for Nathan and Lucas Scott, but for myself as well. I've was a coach of this game for 35 years. I had a hand in coaching hundreds and hundreds of players and coached against thousands more. Every young man I've had the privilege to coach has remained with me; however, there have been only a few that etched a place in my heart. It's these players that have reminded me of exactly why I decided to become a coach and why it is that I love this game so much; players who have taught me just as much about life as they did the game of basketball. I watched Nathan Scott walk through the doors of this gym as a freshman full of ego and attitude, and Lucas Scott joined as a junior who was searching for his place. These two boys worked together to not only better this team, but to better themselves. I watched these young men work tirelessly to become the finest basketball players I have ever had the honor to watch play this game. The fruits of their tireless labor came when they brought Tree Hill it's only state championship in school history. As impressive as an accolade such as that is that is not why I am most proud to raise their jerseys among our rafters tonight. I have watched these boys turn into men…"

"…into devoted brothers to one another…"

"… into remarkable friends to those held dearest to them…"

"…into sons who I know their parents have the utmost love and pride in…"

"… into husbands who love their wives so fiercely…"

 _He folds his hands behind his back breathing past his nerves as his legs tapped rhythmically. The tune of 'Here Comes The Bride' fills the Church. The bridesmaid and groomsmen stood beside him on either side and the only missing person was about to be revealed from the anteroom of the Church. He had never been so nervous in his life._

 _"_ _You okay man?" Nathan taps him lightly from his perched place on the altar._

 _He mulls this over staring directly forward waiting for her to make her appearance. He had been in a position like this twice before. The first time he had proposed hoping it had been the right choice; a desperate plea to hold onto a love that he prayed was still there. The second time he had made it all the way to the altar only to realize that it while it hadn't felt wrong it hadn't felt quite right either; a choice of ease rather than of certainty. This time he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it had not only been the right choice it had been the only choice. All this time he had spent juggling other possibilities of love only to realize that he never really had a choice in the matter at all. He wasn't nervous that it wouldn't work. He wasn't nervous that it wasn't right. He was only nervous that if she didn't get up to this altar soon his heart may explode out of anxious longing. He just wanted to see her. He wanted didn't want to wait another second to vow his forever to her._

 _"_ _Yeah. I'm finally okay." His simple answer hadn't been all that simple. As he smiled at Nathan, he realized that maybe he understood the complex layers behind his answer. After seven years of searching, today was proof that he had finally come to his resounding conclusion. He was making Brooke Davis his wife today, and his years of longing for love were over. He had found that love and it was going to be his for as long as he lived._

 _And then as if on cue, she appeared on the arm of her father at the top of the aisle._

 _"_ _With the way she looks, I bet you're more than okay." He hears Nathan laugh but his eyes remain glued on her. His senses seem to be in overdrive. He finds himself stuck between smiling and crying. Time seems to be moving entirely too slow as she processes down the aisle all eyes drawn to her._

 _She looked like a vision; an angel that he knows he was far too lucky to have been blessed with. She had designed her wedding gown herself something she had said was because "she has known what she wanted her wedding dress to look like since she was four years old." It had a fitted bodice that fell into a ballerina skirt. Her hair was pulled up loosely with soft waves that framed her face. She clutched calla lilies in her hands as she mouthed "hi" as she got closer to him. In a word, she was perfect; a word he didn't use often, but when he did it had been used to describe Brooke Davis._

 _Finally, she was standing inches away from him as he went to accept her from her father; a man who as a result of Brooke's budding resurgent relationship with her mother had been really making an effort with his daughter as well._

 _"_ _Take care of my little girl, Lucas." He smiles back to Mr. Davis as they embrace in a handshake._

 _"_ _I will, sir. Thank you."_

 _And then it was just of the two of them. Their guest fell into oblivion in his mind. All he saw was her._

 _"_ _Hey handsome."_

 _"_ _You look… I don't even have words for how you look." He stammers out trying to take in her beauty. "Do you think we can move up this first kiss?"_

 _"_ _Save it, Scott. I'll make it worth it." She winks at him and he can't help but to smile. He leads her up the altar steps standing before the priest._

 _"_ _Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. It is their words, their intentions, their vision, that must define and shape this marriage. So, I call upon them now to state their promise before this group and in the eyes of God; their own vows that will bind them together. Lucas…"_

 _"_ _A long time ago, I took you as my date to my Uncle Keith's wedding. You found my best man's speech, and you looked at me and said you hoped someone would say words like that about you one day. I looked at you then just as I'm looking at you now, and I know that you deserve those words and so much more. You have filled my life with light and joy and laughter and a love so deep that I couldn't ignore it if I tried. You always called me Broody, but somehow that doesn't seem to fit anymore. I'm happier with you than I ever thought possible and I want to spend every day doing everything I can to make you as happy as you have made me. I love you so much. And I want to make sure you hear the words that you once wanted someone to say about you on your wedding day…Remember tonight for it is the beginning of always; a promise like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. The belief in each other and the possibility of love; a decision, to ignore or simply rise above the pain of the past; the covenant which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties; the celebration of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead. For two will always be stronger than one like a team braced against the tempests of the world. And love will always be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality only an announcement to the world for feelings long held; promises made long ago in the sacred spaces of our hearts."_

 _"_ _Brooke…"_

 _"_ _You're lucky you look so handsome in that tux or I would have to kill you for making my makeup run."_

 _"_ _Luke, before I met you, I was living a life that I thought made me happy. I indulged and I did everything that I thought would fill up the emptiness that I felt. And then you came along. And you challenged everything that I thought I knew and you made me see that I was more than all of that. You made me believe in myself and you made me do something that I never had before… I began to love myself. Because of that, I learned how to open up my heart. And when I did there you were; forever imprinted in it. No matter how many years went by, you were always there. I can't shake you, and I don't want to ever know the day that my heart doesn't have you in it. I found myself through you. I learned how to love through your heart and your compassion. Throughout my life, I haven't always felt like I had a home. I've found a home in your arms. I don't ever want to be let go. I love you, Lucas Scott. I have always loved you and I know that I always will."_

 _When he used to hear the words 'I love you and I probably always will' he felt an ache in his heart. Those words with associated with Brooke walking out of his life. And that was a thought he couldn't bear. But today as he stood here and heard her vow almost identical words to him he realized that the phrase he once tried to block from his memory had now become a vow of hope for all of their tomorrows. He could not wait to have "always" with her._

 _"_ _Lucas and Brooke, you came here today to exchange these vows. Julian, do you take Brooke to be thy wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"_

 _"_ _I do."_

 _The shakiness that was present in his voice when he first saw her walking towards him down the aisle is gone, and replaced with an absolute resolve._

 _"_ _Brooke, do you take this man to be thy wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"_

 _"_ _I do."_

 _She's smiling widely at him and he can feel his pulse rapidly increase at the anticipation._

 _"_ _The rings, please."_

 _"_ _Let's make this official." Nathan says smiling as he hands the rings off the priest._

 _"_ _Brooke, this ring symbolizes my desire for you to be my wife from this day forward."_

 _"_ _Lucas, this ring symbolizes my desire for you to be my husband from this day forward."_

 _"_ _If anyone can show just cause why this couple should not be joined together, speak now…"_

 _"_ _Any secret girlfriends?" She whispers to him as the priest pauses momentarily, but the smile never falters from her immaculate face. The issue of trust had long since gone away._

 _"_ _They left town." He winks at her, and she kinks her eyebrow in response. That very gesture would always make him weak in the knees._

 _"_ _By the power vested in me under the hand of God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."_

 _The priest had barely said the line before he was compelled forward kissing her. He could feel his smiling as his kiss and finds himself doing the same. Despite his most concentrated effort of self-control, they pull away from each other. They turn to face their guests in the audience and he holds her hand up proudly._

 _"_ _Let's get out of here, Mrs. Scott."_

"… and into fathers whose children have become their whole world."

 _"_ _Oh my God! I can't do this!" She pants out breathlessly slamming her head back against the pillow behind the head of her hospital bed._

 _"_ _Hey, I'm right here, okay? Squeeze my hand, and…"_

 _"_ _Squeeze your hand? Oh, I'll squeeze your hand. You can bet your ass it is the last thing I'll be squeezing. We are never doing this again."_

 _The doctor and labor and delivery nurse laugh at this._

 _"_ _And_ you _..." She says with disdain. "… let me do this naturally!"_

 _"_ _You said you didn't want to have an epidural, Brooke!"_

 _"_ _You let me! What are you crazy?"_

 _"_ _I get it. Right now, this sucks. The pain sucks. I suck. But if you can get through the suckiness for just a few more minutes, then it won't suck anymore. We'll get to meet our baby, and all of this will just be a memory."_

 _"_ _Your 'I'm-an-author-and-I'm-so-good-with-words' doesn't work when I'm in pain. I'm doing this because I want this baby out of me."_

 _"_ _Brooke, I need you to push okay." The doctor interjects as he manipulates some of his instruments advising her that the next contraction is coming._

 _"_ _Come on babe. You can do this. I'm right here." He squeezes her hand brushing her hair away from her face._

 _"_ _Okay. Hold my hand."_

 _"_ _I'm not letting go."_

 _She bears down pushing gritting her teeth and screaming through the pain._

 _"_ _Okay, Brooke, one more big push for me. The head is out." The doctor says to her as he takes what appears to be a suction bulb and begins working._

 _"_ _The head is out. The head's out." His voice cracks, something that he knows only happens when emotion creeps into his voice. "We're almost there. Let's meet our baby."_

 _Clenching her eyes tightly shut, she pushes with all of the channeled energy she has left. Before he can process it, he hears the tiny cries of a baby. Looking up he sees the large smile of the doctor cleaning off a baby before he is putting him on her chest._

 _"_ _Would you like to cut the cord of your son, dad?"_

 _"_ _My son?" Lucas croaks out through tears glistening in his eyes. "We have a son?"_

 _"_ _You have a beautiful baby boy Mr. and Mrs. Scott."_

 _She exhales out past the exhaustion of the delivery and in pure awe that their son who they had waited nine months to meet was looking up at them with big, beautiful blue eyes. As she began to cry, he follows in twilight as the doctor instructs him to cut the cord before he is placed in a blanket and quickly returned back to her arms. He palms his the baby's head in his hand and they both remain there for a moment crying taking it all in._

 _"_ _I love you. Just when I think it's not possible to love you anymore, I do." He leans over kissing her lips as resting his head against her forehead._

 _"_ _I love you so much, Lucas Scott. I didn't mean what I said before. I'll still squeeze some other things."_

 _He laughs out loud sniffling past his tears._

 _"_ _I was actually worried about that." Now they're both laughing._

 _"_ _Hi buddy." The tiny baby coos looking back at them both. "Yeah, that's right. It's mommy and daddy."_

 _"_ _Keith."_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _He looks like a Keith, don't you think?"_

 _He clenches his jaw nodding past an onslaught of new tears. Kissing the tiny babies forehead he turns to kiss her once again._

 _"_ _He does."_

 _"_ _Welcome to the world Keith William Scott. We love you so much."_

 _He doesn't waste much time before he is allowed to go to the waiting room to get Grace from his mom in the waiting room. Before their world met Keith, he just wanted a small moment with his family; their tiny, perfect family._

 _"_ _Grace, would you like to meet your little brother?" His daughter two year old daughter is holding onto him tightly with her hands wrapped around his neck. She modestly looks over to see Brooke in the hospital bed holding Keith._

 _"_ _Brother?"_

 _"_ _Yeah. And he can't wait to meet his big sister." Brooke says holding her free hand out to welcome Grace._

 _"_ _Let's go sit with mommy."_

 _He walks over placing the small girl down to sit alongside Brooke in the bed. The tiny girl examines the baby boy with curiosity as she sits on her knees._

 _"_ _Hi baby Keith. I'm your big sister Grace." He redirects his gaze to Brooke as he smiles tenderly at this. His daughter leans over kissing the top of Keith's head. He feels like he's having an out of body experience watching his family interact. The three people in front of him are his whole entire world._

 _"_ _We have the best team, right Grace?"_

 _She little girl looks up at him smiling widely nodding enthusiastically._

 _"_ _The best team, daddy!"_

 _He kisses the top of her head before leaning over and placing a chaste kiss on Brooke's lips. He really did have the best team._

"So tonight I would you all to offer your ovation for these two young men whose number 3 and 23 will never be worn by another. Tonight we are reminded that two men will always be Ravens and each every single night that we take the floor we be will reminded that this court has had the distinct pleasure to be home to Nathan and Lucas Scott. This court may have given them so much, but they have given us so much more. Here's to Nathan and Lucas Scott tremendous Ravens but even greater human beings. May you boys always carry this place with you. And Coach Scott…" Whitey looks over to him and smiles at him in the trademark way he always had. "Let's go get the win tonight."

As the crowd erupts, his eyes are only locked on his family. His kids are jumping up and down clapping, and Brooke is cheering loudly.

 _So, anyway, you're in it now, aren't you? When that last shot went through did you feel it change?_

 _Feel what change?_

 _Everything. I mean how many moments in life can you point to and say that's when it all changed. You just had one._

He had one.

It was Grace.

It was Keith.

It was Brooke. It had always been Brooke.


End file.
